Blue
by EyexLinerxWhore
Summary: The color blue is one of trust, honesty and loyalty. It is sincere, reserved and quiet, and doesn't like to make a fuss or draw attention. It hates confrontation, and likes to do things in its own way. This color exhibits an inner security and confidence. All he wanted to do was get to know the girl at the bar with the blue braids.
1. Chapter 1: Miss Mysterious

Blue

Chapter 1: Miss Mysterious

It was a Tuesday evening out with the superstars and divas of NXT. There was a medium sized brick building not far from their place of work with a brightly colored neon sign that read, The Menace Bar and Grill. On the windows near the bar area were signs offering passing people an idea of what the place offered as far as beer and food options. The interior was rich in dark cherry oak coloring and even darker colored floors. There were flat screen TVs mounted on several different walls showing a number of different sporting events as well as other athletic and musician memorabilia on the walls. Further away from the bar were three black pool tables, a dart board and a jukebox. The name was apt considering the bartender and owner was named Dennis. The atmosphere of the bar was laid back and a perfect spot for the talent to unwind some after their long days of filming and training.

There was a small group of the NXT roster setting up for a game of pool when the door to The Menace opened allowing a woman entrance. Not that her appearing at the bar was different from any other Tuesday night. It wasn't the way she dressed that would draw attention to her. She fit right in wearing hip and thigh hugging black skinny jeans and black biker boots. That was practically a staple outfit for any lady at a bar, whether to get a beer solo or having fruity drinks with umbrellas with her girlfriends to catch up on the latest gossip. Even the leather jacket she wore didn't seem strange; even on this particularly warm night.

' _I wonder if she has a bike._ ' Baron thought as he watched his unnamed beauty walk over to an empty spot at the bar to take up residency in a chair.

The glowing light from the Blue Moon sign hanging over the back bar, caught the wrinkles in her white t-shirt, briefly making it seem as her shirt perfectly matched her hair.

Blue. Cobalt, or maybe even royal blue or a shade between the two, in what looked like impossibly tight and no doubt ridiculously time consuming individual braids, piled on top of her head. The intricacies of her hair seemed to balance out her casual style.

' _With a hairstyle like hers, there couldn't have been a way for her to ride here, could it? Bikes need helmets after all. Maybe she drove? Or maybe she had walked to get some fresh air after a long day.'_ As he recalled her hips and thighs, he highly doubted walking was the likely option she'd used to get there.

Baron's brown eyes tracked her from the time she entered the bar all the way until she sat down at the end. With his attention directed elsewhere, the setup of the pool game had slowed almost to a stop. Only Alexa and Corey knew for sure what, or who rather, had immediately caught Baron Corbin's attention; the same woman that had been plaguing his mind for the past month or so. The woman who always walked in with her head held high and whose smile captivated him, even though he was almost always across the room.

And yet he couldn't find the courage to approach her to introduce himself to her at the very least.

"You know, you should probably just go talk to her." Alexa piped up, causing Baron to break his stare.

"She's got a point." Corey spoke as he playfully smacked Baron on the back. "This has been going on for, like, a month now. She comes in. You gawk. She leaves. It's old." His tone was teasing, but Baron could hear the seriousness in his words.

"What would I even say to her?"

They were right. It had been going on for a month at least.

"How about you introduce yourself?" Alexa asked him.

He shot the mysterious beauty one last glance before turning back to his coworkers and friends.

"Just rack the balls and let's play."

* * *

The group played pool for a few hours before they had dwindled down to just Baron, Corey and Alexa. They had taken up a booth and were sharing some bar food staples; buffalo wings, potato skins, mozzarella sticks and the like.

"Well, I'm gonna get my ass handed to me tomorrow for this." Baron said as he picked up a buffalo wing.

The other two nodded in agreement.

"Bear, are you upset about the bleu cheese because of the cute girl with blue hair?" Alexa's voice held a whiny baby tone.

Baron glared at her; his eyes narrowing.

"You were just complaining about eating this crap too, Lex."

"Yeah, but I'm not moping over a girl I won't talk to."

"Shut up and eat some celery."

"Are you calling me fat?"

"What…? No! Wha-"

"That's enough, children." An amused Corey intervened. "So, your mysterious Blue is still sitting at the bar all by herself. I really think you should just go talk to her. What harm could it be?" Corey prodded.

"Are you interested in her or something?" Baron shot back. He was silently hoping he wouldn't always think of bleu cheese when he thought of her, thanks to Alexa.

"No, but you clearly are. You keep checking to see if she's still there. At least find out her name for Christ's sake."

Alexa chuckled at the pair of them and shook her head just as a commotion at the bar started. A drunk guy was making his rounds looking for a girl to bring home. He drunkenly staggered his way down the boomerang shaped bar, clumsily knocking into a few chairs as he went, until he wound up right beside Blue.

The dude wasn't drunk enough to be kicked out of the bar, but he was still making things uncomfortable; especially for Blue.

' _What the actual fuck is this guy doing?'_ Baron thought as he watched the small scene unfold at the bar. _'He better not fucking touch her.'_

Corey watched as Baron clenched and unclenched his fists. His jaw was ticking from him clenching it. Corey spared a glance at Alexa before turning his gaze back to the situation at the bar. _'If Corbin doesn't make a move to help her, I will.'_

Blue was completely uninterested. Baron could see that from a mile away.

Drunk Guy went to touch her and she leaned away; she was trying to be polite in an awkward situation but the guy couldn't take a hint. Blue slid off of the high bar chair she was occupying and reached for her jacket when Drunk Guy put his hand on top of her jacket causing her to stop her motion to grab it.

Dennis was busy serving other patrons and it seemed like she was going to have to get herself out of this predicament.

Drunk Guy reached out to stroke Blue's cheek. She jerked her head away from Drunk Guy.

Alexa could feel Baron's anger rolling off of him. The flair of his nostrils was a tell tale sign. She reached out to touch his balled up fist before he suddenly pulled his hand away.

' _This motherfucker…'_

Baron saw red as he sprung from his seat in the booth and made his way over.

"Goddamn it, Tommy. You're gonna get us banned from this place if you break this guy's face." Corey muttered as he dragged his hand down his face.

Alexa shot Corey a small sympathetic smile. "I hope not. I love this place."

Corey playfully glared at her. "Yeah, sure Lex, care more about the bar than the possibility of our best friend getting arrested."

"Hey, shut up." She responded as she threw a carrot stick at Corey. Both pairs of their eyes focused on Baron and Blue at the bar, possibly preparing to run interference.

"Hey! There you are. We were looking for you. I thought you didn't make it." He said enthusiastically to the woman with the blue braids. He wrapped his right arm around her waist pulling her into his side.

"I thought you guys stood me up." She said as she rested her right hand on top of his as she looked up at him.

' _I don't know exactly who are you, but thank you so fucking much. Jesus Christ, he's tall. And built like a brick shit house.'_

Baron was lightly rubbing small circles on her hip with his thumb.

She turned slightly to press herself closer to Baron's larger frame. With her movement, his hand moved from her hip and splayed across her lower back. Her left arm was draped loosely around his waist. He was certain she could feel and hear his heart hammering in his chest.

' _What is this woman trying to do to me?'_ His mind raced. Her body was voluptuous curves and soft skin from what he had briefly felt on her hip. He noticed he didn't have to bend his knees or strain his back to reach Blue's waist. Being 6'8" could be a real pain in the ass when most women were 5'5", but not Blue. She had some height on her, which was perfect to him.

"Who's your friend?" Baron eyed Drunk Guy who paled a bit at Baron's size.

"I have no idea. What did you say your name was again?" She asked politely.

The guy hastily removed his hand from the back of her previously occupied chair and stumbled away.

"Thank you." She breathed out in relief, dropping her arm from his waist as he removed his arm and stepped back from her. ' _Aw, no. Please come back and hold me close. You're so big and warm.'_ Blue internally whined, hoping her face showed no emotion. _'And tattooed and really fucking handsome. Oh my god. It can't be him. I mean, it_ _ **is**_ _him, but it can't be. What the hell just happened? I just got saved by the Lone Wolf. What the fuck is my life?'_

' _Dear lord, her voice.'_ He already couldn't get enough. She had spoken less than 30 words to him and he was already imagining what it would sound like in the throes of passion. _'Easy, you don't even know her name… Yet.'_

The blue light from the sign caught a slight glint on her face. He thought it was a piece of glitter, but the closer he looked, he realized she had both her left nostril pierced and a septum ring.

"No problem."

' _His voice sounds like being wrapped in you favorite warm blanket.'_

"Can I buy you a beer or something? It's the least I can do." She offered.

"You really don't have to…"

She cut him off, "I insist. Just let me get Dennis' ass over here." She responded as she slid back into her chair.

"What can I get you, lady B?" Dennis asked as he reached for her favorite top shelf tequila having partly heard what had just gone down.

"Whatever kind of beer this man wants." She responded with a slight upturn of her full lips.

' _Fuck. And she has dimples too.'_

"So, your regular then, Baron?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Oh, you're a regular here?" She teased.

"It's close to where I work." He shrugged nonchalantly.

She nodded. "Prestigious." A smile played at her full lips.

"I'm Baron, by the way." He offered her his hand.

"Is that your real name?" She asked with her eyebrow raised and the same smile playing on her lips.

"Nah… Real name is Thomas. Why'd you ask that?" He slowly let his hand drop.

"Just wondering if you always introduce yourself using your ring name."

It was his turn to hold back a full fledged smile as he nodded. She knew who he was and what he did for a living.

"Brennan. Nice to officially meet you." She said with a small smile and offered him her hand, which he gladly accepted. He was happy that she had a firm, solid handshake.

Once Baron had his beer in hand, the pair of them began talking as they made their way to an empty booth. He'd learned she was originally from California and had just recently moved to Florida for a change of scenery and an unforeseen job opportunity, not that he could fathom why anyone would want to really leave California. It explained her love for mostly west coast teams. They talked wrestling, which he discovered, was how she knew him. They talked about both being siblings to brothers. They talked about their favorite bands and favorite shows they had been to. When they started talking tattoos, he noticed she had a medium tattoo on her left forearm and another one on her left bicep that was peeking from under the short sleeve of her shirt.

"How nice of you to forget about us." Corey, with Alexa in tow, joked as he playfully shoved Baron.

Baron almost choked on his beer causing Brennan to chuckle.

"I can't leave for 10 minutes without you two hassling me?" Baron shot back with a playful lilt to his voice.

"Hi, I'm Alexa." Alexa interjected with her trademark infectious smile on her face offering her hand to Brennan.

"Brennan, nice to meet you." She responded as she shook Alexa's hand.

"I'm sorry Tom forgot his manners." Alexa said loud enough for the men accompanying her to hear.

"It's totally my fault he ditched you two. I offered to buy him a beer for helping me out." Brennan explained.

"Excuse this asshole we call Corey." Baron joked.

Corey smirked and offered his hand to Brennan which she accepted and introduced herself to him.

"We didn't mean to intrude. We just wanted to say our goodbyes before we headed out. Because unlike some people," Corey playfully shoved Baron again. "We have manners."

Brennan couldn't keep the amusement off of her face at the interaction between the three of them. They said their goodbyes and left Baron and Brennan to their own devices.

"I'm sorry about them." Baron apologized as he glanced at Brennan.

"You know, Corey has a point. You could've at least said bye." She teased.

"Siding with my best friend… Damn, I see how it is." He teased back with a shake of his head.

With a small smile playing on her lips, a comfortable silence briefly engulfed them.

"Why did you pick Florida of all places to come live?"

"Well, remember that job opportunity I told you about?"

He nodded.

"Well, it's here; In Florida; With WWE."

He almost choked on his beer again.

"Really? Shouldn't you be in Connecticut?" Slight confusion was etched on his handsome face. Brennan quirked an arched eyebrow as she half smiled.

"It's with NXT."

He paused with his bottle half way to his lips before he sat it back on the booth's table top. The confusion was completely written on his face now.

"Why haven't I ever seen you around there?" He blurted, catching her off guard.

' _Oh, smooth. Real smooth.'_ He mentally slapped his forehead.

Her now infamous small upturn of her full lips was on full display. She bit her lip nervously.

"Well, I technically haven't started." She was sporting a sheepish expression directed more at the table than at him. "Why would you be looking for me anyway?"

Now her big almond shaped eyes scanned his face and searched his eyes before focusing on him completely. He was dumbfounded and suddenly his palms started getting sweaty.

"What are you two still doing in here?" Dennis questioned, approaching the last occupied booth in The Menace.

' _Thank you, Dennis and all the other deities out there_.' Baron thought.

Brennan took her eyes off of Baron and full on smiled at Dennis. "We were just talking."

She reached for her phone to check the time.

"Oh shit. I should get going."

"I was getting ready to kick you two out." Dennis said as he dried a mug.

"You're such a buzzkill, Dennis." Brennan teased. Baron couldn't help a small smile from breaking out on his face.

"Yeah, yeah. Get the hell out of my bar." Dennis teased as he playfully snapped his towel at her.

She and Baron made their way out together. Baron held the door open for her as she slipped back into her leather jacket. As she walked slightly ahead of him, he found his eyes travelling the length of her body. His dark eyes trailed from her blue braids on top of her head, down her back, to the flair of her full hips that lead his eyes to her nice backside and her full thick thighs.

' _Thanks again deities.'_

She turned slowly to face him as she adjusted her sleeves. Baron's eyes snapped up to meet her heavily lined ones. She pulled at the hem of her v-neck t-shirt, inadvertently showing Baron a bit more of her cleavage than she intended. He didn't mind; her breasts seemed to fill the shirt out nicely without spilling out of it.

"So… That was interesting." She said as she walked in the direction of her car.

He nodded in agreement as he followed her.

' _I was right. No bike after all. Guess I'll just have to get her on the back of mine.'_ What the hell was he thinking and so soon? He'd probably wreck if she pressed against his back on the road. He had it bad already. He figured he would just admire her from afar. He would've told anyone they were full of shit if they had told him this is how things would start out.

"Drive safe." He told her as she unlocked her car.

"You too. Maybe next time I see you it won't be nearly as awkward as you having to save me from some skeeze."

' _Nice to know she's considering seeing me again.'_

"Sounds good. We can cross our fingers for that kind of luck."

They stood there awkwardly before she approached him. He looked shocked as she opened her arms for him and hugged him; her arms up around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her back.

He inwardly groaned. Her raised arms exposed a line of skin on her back, which was just as soft as the skin on her hip from earlier in the evening. _'She's going to be the death of me.'_ The softness of her body pressed against his harder one was a delicious feeling he couldn't really explain.

"See ya around, Tommy." She said as they pulled apart.

He gave her a half smile before a small wave.

' _I like the way my name sounds coming from her.'_

Yeah, he definitely would've called bullshit on all of this.

* * *

 _ **And so it begins. Please let me know what you think of this. Thanks!**_


	2. Chapter 2: Reunited

Chapter 2: Reunited

Thirteen days. It had been 13 days since Baron had seen or even spoken to Brennan. The same large group that always showed up to The Menace was there on Tuesday. The previous week, he had been distracted from his friends and their conversations looking for her, but she never showed up. He was still looking for her on this night too.

' _Why can't I get this woman out of my head?'_

She'd already plagued his thoughts before he had even ever met her and now it was even worse than before. He couldn't stop the images of her half dimpled smile from flashing across his mind. He couldn't shake the feeling of her curves pressed against his body. It was everything and he hardly knew anything about her.

"What's up with you?" Corey joined Baron at the bar. Baron was rolling a beer bottle between his hands while staring down at it absently.

"Nothing." Baron replied rapidly; more rapidly than he intended.

He mentally face palmed _, 'If that wasn't a dead giveaway, you dummy.'_

"Liar. You're looking for Blue."

Baron shot him a look.

"Busted."

"Alright, fine. Yeah, I'm looking for Brennan."

"I hate to say I told you so."

"Since when?" Baron questioned as his lips turned up into a half smile. He went back to rolling the bottle between his hands, not waiting for or even expecting a reply from Corey.

"Hey Dennis!" Corey shouted and got the bartender's attention before walking away, leaving Baron to fend for himself.

"Thanks a lot, asshole." Baron mumbled under his breath.

"What's up big fella?" Dennis asked as he approached.

Dennis wasn't much older than Baron, but his hair was already gray. It looked like he had purposely colored his hair that shade, but the small thatch of gray under his bottom lip in his otherwise naturally dark beard told a different story. He was a tall man too, but not nearly as tall as Baron. In an odd way, Dennis reminded him of Corey; or at least how Baron imagined Corey would look in 20 years or so.

Baron felt the jealousy surge through him. _'I bet they used to screw around with each other. No way they could be that close and not feel… Something.'_

He was overanalyzing. _'You don't know shit about either of them. If there was something between them, it sure in the hell isn't any of your business. Dial it back, ya ape.'_

What the hell was going on with him?

"Have you seen Brennan at all lately?" Baron spoke up before his thoughts could take another drastic turn.

"She was in here yesterday watching Raw, actually. She said she had been M.I.A. because of a new job and wanting to be on top of her game. She had her final interview last week."

' _That's right! The job with NXT. I never did ask her what she does for a living. I wonder what she'll be doing there.'_

Baron let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He was glad he hadn't scared her off, but was bummed about missing out on talking to her because of something important like her livelihood.

"You didn't ask her for her number?" Dennis asked.

"I thought I'd see her again before I made that move."

Dennis nodded. "You're a smart man. You're in here every week. I'm sure you'll bump into her again; whether it's here or somewhere else around here."

"Thanks, man." He turned on his bar stool ready to head back over to his friends.

"I'm gonna give you a bit of advice."

Baron turned his head focusing on Dennis.

"It won't take much to fuck up whatever it is you think you have with her, so watch yourself."

' _And exactly how in the hell does he know that?'_

"What do you mean?"

"Trust me, you'll figure it out. And if you don't, you'll learn the hard way."

* * *

The move to Florida happened because Brennan not only needed, but wanted a change of scenery. Was moving across the country her brightest idea? Probably not, but she figured she could've done a lot worse. She had spent 14 months and was going to have a bitch of a time paying off 16,000 dollars in student loans she had taken out to go to cosmetology school. And she would be damned if she spent all that time and money just to end up stuck in a Super Cuts or Great Clips doing cheap haircuts for an hourly wage. She had her fill of that shit in beauty school, minus the hourly wage. She didn't mind landing at a Sephora though. Makeup was her more so her passion than doing hair. She kept her eyes peeled for any and all opportunities and when a massive one with WWE presented itself to her, she leapt at the chance. It was a behind the scenes gig and she would be working side by side with people that worked for a company that she had been a fan of since she was 12 years old.

Today was the day and she was going to blow it because she'd fallen asleep the previous night without getting her shit together the night before.

"Shit! I'm late. I'm gonna be late!" Brennan yelled as she ran around her apartment looking for business casual clothes to wear. She was clad in a black spaghetti strap shirt and shorts barely long enough to cover her ample backside.

' _Jesus, it's bright in here. Why are the blinds open?'_ She plowed into her living room, grimacing. She avoided near death after she knocked into the side of the couch, thankful she didn't smash her toes into the piece of furniture.

' _Where the hell are all my clothes?'_ grabbing her laundry basket that sat between her couch and coffee table and dumping it on her living room floor.

' _Black t-shirt, black leggings, black- what the hell are these? Where the fuck… Oh!'_ She tossed the items away searching until she found her ruffled charcoal gray tank top.

' _God damn it! Where the fuck are my pants?'_ Leaving the pile of clothes on the floor, blue braids trailing behind her as she ran back to her bedroom and rifled through her closet.

' _BINGO!'_ She yanked her pants from the hanger before running into the bathroom.

' _I hope I don't smell.'_ She was skipping her shower for the day. She brushed her teeth then washed her face. Next she hesitated about what to do as far as her makeup.

' _Always dress and look the part you're playing.'_ It had been drilled into her head those 14 months she had been in school. She could do lazy girl makeup for a day. That's all she really had time for.

' _Moisturize, prime, eye shadow primer, where the fuck is that brush? Ugh! I don't have time for this shit.'_ She rummaged through the black cup sitting on her bathroom counter labeled eyes and grabbed a black fluffy brush. It was dirty, and instead of finding a shadow to dip her brush in, she worked the brush in windshield wiper motions into and above the crease of her almond shaped eyes. She couldn't tell what color was on the brush, but it didn't matter. She grabbed a shadow duo from the top tray of her opened caboodle and dipped another tapered brush with a white handle into a dark gray shadow. She blended the shadow seamlessly into the outer corner and crease of her eye. She dipped the brush in again before switching to her left eye. She grabbed a gold eye shadow pencil and swiped the color along her eyelid. Once satisfied with the saturation of the color, she grabbed the tapered brush again and blended the gray and gold together. Next she grabbed a black eyeliner pen and began trying to line her eyes. She swiped, but nothing happened.

' _Come on! You've got to be kidding me.'_ She shook the pen and swiped along her lash line. Nothing.

"Damn it!"

' _I really didn't want to use liquid liner. Let's see how this goes.'_ She reached into the side pocket of a black and white polka dot back also sitting on her counter and rummaged briefly for her black liquid liner.

She took a steadying breath and leaned forward towards the mirror. She began slowly, taking small strokes along her upper lash line drawing a thin black line. She continued on to her left eye then stood back.

' _Today isn't my fucking day is it?'_ The lines didn't look the same. She huffed and went back to her right eye in an attempted to thicken the line to make it match the left. She took another steadying breath and began to draw again.

"Fuck." She missed the mark on the start of her line and made a black flick that wasn't connected to the rest of the line. _'Well, fuck it. If anyone is close enough to see that, they need to back the hell off.'_

She continued on thickening the liner until she was satisfied that the lines on her eyes looked similar enough.

' _Mascara, foundation, concealer, eyebrows filled in, contour, blush, powder, highlight, lipstick and setting spray. Done.'_

She entered her room and threw on her slightly wrinkled black dress pants and gray top before rummaging through her closet again for her black blazer and flats; throwing the blazer on her bed and the shoes to the floor. She walked over to her nine cube organizer and sprayed herself with some perfume then put on some deodorant. She put big faux diamond earrings in her ears and a black choker around her neck. She grabbed her blazer and slipped it on, flipping her long braids out of the garment, as she slid into her shoes and was out of her front door with her bag on her shoulder.

She was making her way to Winter Park to Full Sail Studios where NXT was filmed in he arena building to the right. She had a meeting with Talent Relations to go over some paperwork and officially sign her contract as a new cosmetologist for the company.

"Shit shit shit." She mumbled as she finally found a place to park her 2002 Toyota Camry. It was looking a bit ashen with a hint of brown over the green paint. Someone had affectionately wrote _wash me_ on the trunk. Assholes.

Brennan pulled the visor down to look herself over. Plain; she looked very plain minus her bright blue braids. She had opted to flip her septum ring up into her nose as to not draw any attention to it, as she had for the rest of her interview processes. She also had all of her tattoos covered; all for the sake of looking professional. It wasn't her normal style at all, but she wanted this job, so she did what she had to do.

' _Here's to hoping I don't run into Baron. Baron… Should I call him Tommy now? Christ almighty. I need to focus and get my ass out of this car. I can't be sitting here daydreaming about how attractive that man is. Or how good he smelled or how his thumb rubbing my hip made me a little weak in the knees. Who knew someone so big could be so gentle.'_

"SHIT! Snap out of it." She slammed the visor up and turned her car off, pulling the key from her ignition. She grabbed her bag from the floor where it had fallen from slamming on her brakes too hard one too many times and dropped her keys inside. She unlocked then opened the driver's door then locked the doors before heading to the entrance of the building.

"So you haven't seen her at all?" Alexa asked as she walked along Baron and Corey to the back entrance of Full Sail Studios Live building.

Baron shook his head sadly as they walked towards the building.

"Excuse me!" A voice said she jogged pass the small group. She was trying to pull her long blue braids up into a bun.

"Brennan?" The group of three shouted at the same time as they looked at each other before jogging to catch up with her.

"Shit." She mumbled for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. She slowed to a stop when she realized she had no clue where the hell she was going. The group caught up to her.

' _Well fuck you today too, deities.'_

"What are you doing here?" Baron covertly let his eyes roam her body. It had been 14 days since he had seen her.

' _That was real smooth there, T. You know why she's here. Dennis told you why last night.'_

"Uh… Right now, I'm lost." She responded sheepishly as she finally got her hair up in a bun now that she wasn't jogging anymore. Her eyes flicked from him to Alexa to Corey as she readjusted her blazer and bag.

In her haste and screwing around with her hair, she had jogged past the entrance she had been using to enter the arena. How? She didn't know. The front of the building was glass, most wouldn't have missed it, but most people weren't her.

' _Damn… She even looks good dressed professionally. Not as much makeup as the last time I saw her. What freaking color are her eyes? They look brown today, but I swear they were a deep, dark green the last time I saw her.'_

"Where are you headed?" Alexa asked as she shielded her blue eyes from the sun. Brennan couldn't get over how Alexa's eyes seemed to sparkle no matter what. Maybe the petite blonde really was a pixie princess.

"I actually have a meeting with Talent Relations today and I'm running late." Brennan explained as they made their way to a back entrance.

"You're a wrestler?" Corey and Baron asked at the same time.

Brennan slowed to a stop again as she began to laugh. "Aw, you two are both handsome and absolutely hilarious." She was bending over at the waist. "Oh jeez. That was great."

The group entered the back entrance and walked down a corridor as the wrestlers continued to guess at what Brennan's position with WWE would be.

"Backstage interviewer?"

"Nope."

"Referee?"

"Negative."

"Stage hand?"

"Nah uh."

"Well, what the hell?" Baron questioned, his voice a combination of exasperation, confusion and a laugh bubbling beneath the surface.

"Show me to Talent Relations or whatever the hell office I need to go to and let me sign my contract before I spill the beans. I'd really hate to jinx myself."

They all nodded as they kept walking.

"I can show you the rest of the way if you'd like." Corey stepped up.

' _What the fuck do you think you're doing, Graves?'_

"Um, actually… I was hoping Tommy could show me the way there." She didn't dare look in Baron's direction.

Corey tried to conceal his knowing smirk. _'Set 'em up, let's see if T can knock them down.'_

Baron briefly paused, _'She actually wants me to escort her? What the hell did I just miss?'_

"Good luck." Corey and Alexa both spoke before leaving with reassuring smiles and small waves.

"Thanks." She breathed out as she went to stand next to Baron.

"Shall we?" Baron offered her his non-tattooed right arm, which she looped her left arm through as they made the short walk to the office. She lightly drummed her fingers on his forearm.

' _His skin is really soft.'_ Her finger drifted along his skin, lightly skimming over some of the veins that were raised.

He flexed his arm in response to her minimal ministrations. Her touch was light and gentle, yet somehow still warm.

' _I wonder what else her hands are good at doing.'_

"Are you busy later?"

"I don't have any plans, unless I decide to drink myself silly at home alone."

Her hand slid from his forearm, her fingertips ghosting over the palm of his hand.

"Well, you could always come out for drinks with friends if drinking yourself silly is what you want to do."

Brennan smiled a full real smile. She tilted her head, catching Baron's eyes.

' _Jesus, what fucking color are her eyes?'_

"I suppose that's your way of asking me to meet you at The Menace tonight."

He chuckled, scratching the back of his neck, suddenly nervous. "Suppose you're right. Is that a yes?"

"It definitely is." A playful smirk graced her lips.

He lightly bit his bottom lip as he nodded.

' _Oh shit, don't do that. I want to do that. Wait… What?'_

"I'll see you later then. Good luck." He gave her shoulder a squeeze before turning to walk in the direction they originally came.

"Thanks." She smiled a half smile as she watched him go. She raised her fist to rap on the closed office door.

* * *

"So, how'd it go?" Baron asked as Brennan took a seat directly across from him at the booth some of the talent had decided to use to stow away some of their jackets and purses. He was sitting alone, sipping a beer.

He eyed her and the smirk that was playing on her lips.

"Are you finally going to tell me what your position with the company is?"

She rolled her eyes at him and pursed her full lips before replying.

"You're looking at NXT's newest cosmetologist." Excitement evident in her voice.

Baron smiled which caught her off guard.

' _He should do that more often. Damn.'_

"Congrats. Welcome to the family." Baron told her as he reached over, grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. He half expected her to pull away, but was pleasantly surprised when she didn't.

Neither of them expected the little flips their stomachs did either.

"Thank you. I'm excited to get started."

He nodded. He liked that about her – the quiet enthusiasm that radiated from her, almost palpable in the room full of unsuspecting strangers. It was coming off of her in waves.

"What's going on here?" Corey teased as he motioned to Baron and Brennan's hands.

Baron slowly pulled his hand away from hers. Brennan slowly put her hand down in her lap. She opened and closed her right hand; the one Baron had been holding.

' _Get it together, girl. He was just being friendly. Although, if he decided to do it again, I absolutely wouldn't mind it.'_

"He was just congratulating me on my new job." Brennan explained, trying not to visibly shake off her previous thoughts.

"You got it?" Corey asked. "Really? Like for sure?" His voice got louder with each question.

With a small smile gracing her lips, Brennan nodded.

"HELL YEAH!" Corey shouted. "I'm buying a round for everyone to celebrate. Looks like your new friend is gonna be around a lot more now, BC." He nudged Baron before walking away.

Brennan sat across the table with an eyebrow quirked as she watched a slight blush appear on Baron's cheeks.

"He sure does like giving you shit." She said trying to lighten the mood.

"Graves is an asshole, but he's the coolest asshole I know."

Brennan chuckled at him. "Sounds like a best friend to me."

"Yeah, birds of a feather..." Baron chuckled.

"Hey! We're gonna steal her for a bit." Alexa told Baron as she approached the table with Bayley.

"Steal me for what?"Brennan's smile shrank, and she looked immediately uncomfortable, her eyes flying to Baron's for help.

"We'll bring her back completely unscathed." Bayley shouted back at Baron as she and Alexa pulled Brennan along to a group of other talent from NXT.

Baron sat quietly and watched. He watched Brennan get introduced to most everyone on the roster. She managed to escape them saying she left her drink at the table, which wasn't exactly a big stretch, because she had. She made it back over to the booth and plopped down right next to Baron.

"Save me." She leaned into him dramatically.

He chuckled at her. "Was it that bad?"

She shook her head. "No, not at all. It's just overload." She leaned forward and reached across the table for her drink. As she leaned back Baron lifted his right arm to rest behind her on the back of the seat.

The two of them fell into easy conversation until Baron asked a million dollar question.

"So what does your boyfriend think about you hanging out until the early morning?"

Brennan almost choked on her drink as she laughed. She turned slightly to look at Baron.

"My boyfriend?"

"Okay, husband."

She laughed again.

"Yeah, I have no idea what either of those are. Especially since I don't have either one." Her tone was even as she relaxed against him

He narrowed his brown eyes at her.

"What?"

"I don't believe you."

"Why not?" She asked as she took a sip of her drink.

"I don't get how you could be single."

"Okay, here's some food for thought. Why would I lie about that of all things?" She raised an eyebrow.

He removed his arm and turned to look at her. He was thinking. He was searching her face for any evidence of a lie. He found himself being drawn in by her eyes.

"Why does that matter anyway? I mean, if I did have a husband or a boyfriend, he wouldn't have that type of control over what I do anyway."

' _Fuck, she's feisty. That's really sexy. I don't know how I'm going to be able to handle her. But I would if she'd wanted me to. Any way she wanted me to.'_ He squirmed at the thought, but she thankfully didn't notice.

He shrugged his broad shoulders. "I guess you really don't have a reason to lie about that."

"Or anything else for that matter." She added which made him give her a goofy half smile.

"So, who are you dating, Alexa or Corey?" She teased with a smile playing at her lips.

He glared and shoved her playfully. "Neither, smart ass."

* * *

 _ **Well, here's chapter 2. Thanks for the reviews and follows on this. It may take awhile for me to get it written, edited and posted with how busy my life tends to be, but I'm determined to get this story completed. What do you guys think has happened between Dennis and Brennan? And why does the thought of them being together not sit well with Baron? Hmm... I wanna know what you think!**_


	3. Chapter 3: PDA

There are two flashbacks in this chapter, both in italics. I apologize if this seems weird, but this is the way the chapter came to me.

* * *

Chapter 3: PDA

"B, let me explain." Baron reached out for her.

She jerked away, "There's nothing to explain. You just let her come and shove her tongue down your throat while I sat there and watched." Her voice raised until she was yelling by the end of her statement. She had her arm out to the side, her hand pointing at the door.

"I pushed her away, but you didn't see that shit, did you?" He spoke, his own voice rising.

 _'Fuck. FUCK! I didn't come here to fight.'_

"That's great. That's fucking perfect, Tommy, really. I'm supposed to be okay with that? You didn't even have the fucking balls to tell me you had a fucking – whatever the fuck she is to you. While you're all over me, making me think that we have something." Now her tone was a combination of pissed off and cutting sarcasm.

He reached out to touch her again. She slapped his hands away.

"We fucking do have something, Brennan. Jesus Christ. She doesn't mean shit to me." His voice was etched with anger and frustration. His hands went from grasping his hair to resting on his hips.

"Well, it doesn't seem like she got the fucking memo, does it? Besides, you couldn't give that much of a shit about me either since you lied about her."

"I didn't lie." His voice lowered.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I meant, abstained from the truth." Now she was being condescending. She turned away from him, shaking her hands out. She took a deep breath to calm her pounding heart, trying to loosen the tightness in her chest as she paced.

 _'Fuck that. She wants to play this game, we can play.'_

"You wanna talk truths? What the fuck is going on between you and Dennis, huh?" His voice was raised again. He couldn't seem to wrap his brain around what was happening. An hour before, he felt like he was on top of the world with the woman that had plagued his thoughts and now he felt like she was water slipping through his fingers. How could he be losing her before he ever really got to have her?

She stopped pacing, a look of confusion gracing her face, "What the fuck does Dennis have to do with anything?" She didn't quite yell, but her voice was still raised. She could feel her frustration at the situation building.

"You won't even let me get a word in edge wise... He fucking told me this would happen." His voice and tone remained the same.

"What did he tell you?" Her voice lowered considerably, her eyebrow raised.

"That it would be easy to fuck this up if I wasn't careful. And now I'm wondering exactly how he fucking knew that little bit of information." He was pissed, he wasn't yelling anymore though. Jealousy was raging through him. Part of him wanted to grab her and shake her until she understood that what happened was nothing. Another part of him wanted to rip Dennis to shreds for whatever bullshit he had pulled for making her believe that, because of what had transpired earlier, meant he didn't care about her anymore and probably never did to begin with. Did she think he thought she was a toy? That their relationship was a game to him? That was farthest thing from the truth. Baron knew he was falling hard for her. He knew the thought should probably be unsettling, but it wasn't. It was the complete opposite. When he was with her, he was at complete ease. There was no pressure from her to be something he wasn't. She didn't expect anything but trust, respect and understanding. And yet, he was standing there, knowing she was hurt because she felt like he had betrayed her trust by not fully disclosing things from his past.

"Why do you care?" Her voice was flat. The sound startled him, but he was still feeling the anger bubbling beneath the surface.

"Because now it's more than obvious that I'm not the only one keeping fucking secrets." His voice held an edge sharp enough to cut her.

"What happened between Dennis and me isn't a secret." She folded her arms across her flat stomach. She suddenly found her bare feet really interesting.

"So, something did happen with him? I fucking knew it! There was no way you two were just friends." His attempts at subduing his jealousy were failing miserably. He couldn't stand the fact that this man had put her through… Whatever he had put her through. Baron wanted to know. He was going to get answers one way or another.

 _'If I were 60 pounds heavier, I'd knock him the fuck out. He knew it? What the fuck, Tommy? What do you know? I thought you trusted me.'_

"Forgive me for trying to be an adult and keeping things cordial and friendly in his place of business. And if you wanted to know what happened or if there was anything going on between us, all you had to do was ask." Brennan spoke, her voice still flat.

 _'Her and her smart ass mouth. She's frustrating the shit out of me right now.'_

He took a deep breath, running his hand through his hair, before he slapped it down on his thigh, "Well, I'm asking now."

"I should've been asking you 50 questions about psycho ex girlfriends and stage 5 clingers that you might have in your past, but I gave you the benefit of a doubt. And now I'm fucking pissed the fuck off and I have to rehash this fucking bullshit." She ran her hands through her braids, tucking some behind her ear. As she moved her hands along them, she rested her hands on her neck. Did she really want to reopen this not so old wound? She didn't want to be a hypocrite and tell Baron to mind his own fucking business, but she had half a mind to do just that. But that wouldn't be fair. She wanted to settle Baron's mind. She knew what it was like to feel like at any second, everything was going to come crashing down around you. One false move or shitty statement and everything would be over. She knew that feeling all too well. That was how she was feeling after the incident at The Menace. And if she could protect this 6'8" tall, 275 pound man from feeling the same way by telling him what happened with Dennis, she'd do it. She only had one problem…

Would things still be the same after she came clean?

* * *

 _The Menace was buzzing with the lunch crowd, preparing for the happy hour crowd that would be in a few hours later. Brennan had become particularly fond of the bar and grill after the owner, Dennis Avery, helped her when she blew a tire on the interstate. He had an edgy vibe to him that she was drawn to and after they got the tire changed, he gave her the address to his place of business, a bar. She had been in there more days than they cared to count._

 _The get to know you phase went quickly; Brennan and Dennis' talks sometimes lasting into the early hours of the morning – and after leaving the bar, went on even longer with text messages and phone calls. Brennan had to keep reminding herself that she and Dennis were just friends. He was eight years her senior and she tried to convince herself that nothing would come of it. She couldn't lie about enjoying the attention and playful, mostly flirtatious banter between them, but she held strong to them just maintaining their friendship._

 _That was until the night he kissed her._

 _They had driven an hour and a half from Winter Park to Tampa for a baseball game. Much to Brennan's delight, her beloved Oakland A's were in town. They sat behind the 3rd base line and ate junk food. The game was good, but the company was even better. It was light and flirty from the way their knees would touch to Dennis' arm around her shoulders to him pulling her close and kissing her on the temple, cheek or corner of her mouth from time to time. She'd blushed much to his amusement._

 _"That's really cute." He chuckled._

 _"Shut up." The blush only intensified._

 _"No, it really is. It's almost like no one has ever showed you any kind of affection before. Let alone in public."_

 _Her eyes swept to him quickly. He leaned into her to whisper in her ear before she could fix her mouth to speak._

 _"I'm not afraid of letting people know how I feel about you. You're not a secret." He pulled away, his green eyes locking with hers._

 _The blush was gone and she was suddenly as quiet as he had ever seen her._

 _The walk back to his car was silent, but not as tense as he expected it to be. He knew the beautiful woman walking beside him had deep rooted issues about abandonment and trust. She had seen her parents' marriage nearly ripped to shreds because of her father's infidelity. She had seen her mother stand by his side for her and her brother's sake. She had been the target of bullying from her own grandmother about her weight since she was nine years old. And more so about what to do with her a life and finding a man to spend her life with. And when it came to men, she'd had more than enough of her fair share of let downs and a break up that woke her up to the shit she had been dealing with. She constantly felt like no matter what she did, what she wore or how she looked was ever good enough; she was never good enough and until she was, she didn't matter and no one seemed to care. It all ate at her, but because she had always been the one to pull herself up out of whatever dirty gutter her thoughts and feelings threw her into, she never let on that anything was wrong. I'm fine would still come out of her mouth with tears staining her cheeks. Over time she learned to just throw the shit that was bothering her into the pile with the other shit that used to bother her and keep moving. He meant for what he said to be a joke, but he knew what he said probably touched those parts of her that she tried like hell to keep in place. They were the parts that she stored away so she could function and pretend that she'd never been hurt before._

 _"B, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. I was just teasing." He stopped walking. She was standing by his car. There was about five feet between them._

 _"I'm glad you find amusement in that, Denny." Her tone was flat, dry._

 _"It's not amusing. For fuck's sake. I was just trying to show you that you're nothing to be ashamed of. You're gorgeous, funny, smart, and artistic and really fucking talented at anything you set your mind to doing." He closed the gap._

 _She still had a disbelieving expression on her face._

 _"And I'd be really fucking happy to call you mine." His forehead was pressed against hers and his arms around her waist, holding her curvy body close to his lean, but muscular 6'4" frame._

 _Her eyes were downcast and her arms down at her sides. **'This is what I've been waiting for.'** She smiled inwardly. **  
**  
"What do you say, huh? Wanna give this a chance? We could be so good together. We'll take it as slow as you want." His soft breath was minty fresh from the gum she had given him inside the stadium._

 _Brennan's eyes rose slowly to meet Dennis'. Her arms lifted to wrap around his neck. A small flash of his white teeth graced his handsome face in a smile. He brought his left hand up to tilt her head back slightly so he could kiss her._

 _For a month, things were good, but the saying, "A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor", kept popping into her head. Something was going to happen. She knew it. And it wasn't going to be good._

 _After being ignored for three days via phone call and text message and being stood up because plans that were previously made were completely abandoned by Dennis, Brennan showed up at The Menace. Casually dressed in a loose fitting off-white colored tank top, tight light blue ripped jeans and black and white vans, Brennan gave a chin raise in greeting to Ricky, one of the bartenders._

 _"Is Dennis around?" She ran her left hand up and down her tattooed right bicep. "I haven't been able to get in touch with him and I'm worried."_

 _Before Ricky could respond Brennan whirled around at the sound of Dennis' voice._

 _"So glad you dropped by, baby. I missed you."_

 _Brennan frowned at the sight before her. Dennis was kissing a petite blonde on the top of her head._

 _' **He's back with his wife? How long has this been going on?'** Brennan ran her right hand over the back her two toned, grown out pixie cut, resting her hand on the back of her neck before she dropped her arm. It was all she could think to do in her current state of disbelief. **'I'm a fucking idiot.'**_

 _"I missed you too. I'll see you when you get home."_

 _They kissed and she left._

 _Brennan rushed him, "You've reconciled?" Her voice was hushed so that only Dennis could her._

 _He paused, preparing to speak when she cut him off._

 _"Save it."_

 _ **'So much for the "legal" separation he talked about before we got involved. I should've known better. I should've fucking known better.'**_

 _She body checked him, roughly knocking her shoulder into his as she walked out of the bar. As the anger coursed through her, the sadness she felt would surely make an appearance and weigh heavy on her chest._

 _' **It's always me, right deities?'**_

* * *

Baron stood there quietly. She had her hands on her hips; where he wanted his hands to be. Tonight wasn't supposed to go like this. He wasn't supposed to feel the sudden flash of jealousy and anger he was feeling. He was supposed to be feeling her lips against his. Her body pressed against his as they got tangled in her sheets. He wasn't supposed to be standing there feeling like his guilt was going to eat him alive.

Dennis warned him about fucking up, because Dennis had fucked up with Brennan himself. And now so had he.

"Are you happy now? You know what happened between me and Dennis, okay?" The anger that was in her voice earlier had disappeared. It sounded emotionless, even to her.

She watched him. She couldn't read his face.

"Tommy?" She took a step towards him.

"I should go." He stepped away turning towards her door.

"T, don't..."

The door shut before she could finish.

"Leave." She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. She ran her hand through her blue braids, gripping them tight at the crown of her head. She stood there staring at the door.

 _'You deities couldn't wait to drop that other shoe, could you?'_ She turned her eyes upwards, towards heaven _._ She should've been used to it. It had happened so many times before, but this time it was different. This time it hurt so much more than it ever did before. It was different because she was different. She had grown and changed since the last time it had happened. Baron was different. The entire situation was different and yet there she was standing there trying to figure out if it was the right time to cry or just to hold it in.

 _'This is not how I pictured my night ending.'_ She ran her hands up and down her arms before turning to head into her bedroom.

"And to think the night started out so good." She mumbled into the darkness of her bedroom.

* * *

 _"How nice of you to join us." Alexa teased as Brennan approached their booth._

 _"I smelled like burnt hair and nail glue, okay? I needed a shower and a change." Brennan's response came with a smile._

 _And change she had. Her work attire for the day included a pair of black soft pants that fitted in the waist, but draped looser over the curves of the wide flare of her hips, a crisp long sleeved fitted white button down shirt that was tucked into the pants, well worn black on white Nike Air Force One sneakers with scuff marks on the toe of each shoe and a denim vest with black, silver and gun metal colored studs across the top back panel she made herself. Her blue braids were pulled up in a messy bun and her face had minimal makeup on it. The outfit she had on now was different._

 _Brennan slipped her small black bag from her shoulder and slipped out of her leather jacket and tossed them both on the pile of jackets and purses in the corner of the booth. Her feet were adorned in four inch heeled ankle boots, boosting her already 5'10" frame to well over six feet tall. The black and off white tribal print skirt stopped a bit below mid thigh, exposing half of each of the tattoos she had on the tops of her thighs; A siren pin up girl with blue hair to imitate the waves of the sea on the left and a lion with daisies and sunflowers in his mane with the words 'Lions don't lose sleep over the opinions of sheep' in script font. The skirt hugged the curves of her hips and ample backside. Her shirt was black, loose, sleeveless and collared; exposing her tattoos that adorned her toned arms. There was a black and white abstract owl on her left bicep, large enough to be a half sleeve, a cute purple compact with leopard print on the inside, a lipstick, a makeup brush and pink roses on the inside of her right forearm, script font running from below her left wrist bone almost to her elbow, another half sleeve of a pin up girl with a snake on her right bicep, the words 'Stranger than fiction' on the inside of her right forearm and another strange font made of triangles made her last tattoo that read 'Vanity' along the outer part of her right wrist._

 _She had a silver necklace around her neck and under the collar of the shirt. Her makeup was simple too; black winged eyeliner, full flirty false lashes and a deep wine colored lipstick. Her blue braids were on top of her head almost like a crown, but it was in a braided bun. Shimmery, dangly earrings hung from her ears._

 _"Damn, girl. If I didn't know any better I'd say you dressed to the nines for someone in particular." Alexa winked._

 _Brennan laughed. "Let's not get carried away, I will take these boots off and put on the sandals I have in my car in a heartbeat."_

 _The pair walked across to where the Corey, Baron and a few of the other guys from work were playing a game of pool. Baron noticed them first. He did a double take at Brennan._

 _She approached him as he stood to his full height._

 _"Hey." She was being shy._

 _He glanced at her, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Hey, yourself, you clean up nice."_

 _He wrapped an arm around her shoulders pulling her into his left side, absently kissing her on the temple._

 _She casually draped her arm around his waist; her hand almost slipping into the back pocket of his dark blue jeans._

 _"You don't look too bad yourself, wolf boy."_

 _He was wearing a simple black v-neck t-shirt, it clung to his well defined arms and broad shoulders. He had on his ever present black beanie covering the top of his head, leaving only the ends of his dark exposed, dark blue jeans hugged his thighs, but sat midway up his hips even with a studded belt on. Black and white Chuck Taylor converse adorned his feet. Brennan liked his style; it fit well with her casual and comfortable, but edgy style._

 _He looked at her and noticed the smirk on her lips._

 _'Her eyes are dark green again. They looked like whiskey in the sunlight earlier. Damn, all this time and I'm just now figuring out her eyes are hazel.'_

 _"Your shot." Corey called out to Baron breaking up his small moment with Brennan._

 _Corey shot Brennan a knowing look as Baron was concentrating on his shot. She slipped away with Alexa and Bayley to get drinks._

 _She and Baron hadn't put a label on what they were, but it was more than obvious they were something. Where one was, the other wasn't far behind. It was odd to see the man they called the Lone Wolf crazy about the new girl. He hadn't gotten his balls busted like that in a long time. To Baron, it was actually, in an odd masochistic way, a nice feeling._

 _He knew he had it bad and honestly couldn't care less what anyone thought about it. She was his girl as far he was concerned. They went on dates, whether it was him taking her out on his motorcycle to the middle of nowhere and stargazing or him playing personal trainer at the gym for her, when in all honesty he was just checking her out in her skin tight compression leggings and sports bra. They had spent nights together in each of their beds talking about life, or even sometimes just lying in comfortable silence, cuddled against each other and recently had upped the game to small public displays of affection; from small touches to holding hands to kissing each other on the cheek or him kissing her on the forehead. That little bit affection made her sigh in contentment on many occasions and in turn made his heart swell. She was easy to please which made her easier to love._

 _' **Wait, what? I think it might be too soon to put that out into the universe. I haven't even kissed her yet. There's still so much I don't know.'**_

 _That's not to say that Brennan didn't have it just as bad. Alexa and Bayley teased her endlessly when the guys weren't around. It wasn't nearly as bad as what Baron got from Corey, but it was just as annoying. He plagued her thoughts in the most fantastic ways. She loved the way his eyes got little crinkles in the outer corners and the slight hint of dimples he had showing when he smiled. She loved when they would listen to music together then she'd threaten to hurt him if he didn't stop skipping the songs which would inevitably lead up to them wrestling. And that always led to him resting his hand where her neck met her shoulder, leaning in to finally get to feel her lips against his, only for something or someone to interrupt them in the process._

 _Or the times that he'd stop by hair and makeup and imitate her from the doorway which inevitably led to her throwing a comb or a clip at him. He'd always come back with the thrown object and scold her, telling her it wasn't nice to throw things, to which she would just roll her eyes at him. He found the whole situation amusing and would hug her tight from behind. He thought he was being sneaky, but he wasn't, by any means. She liked having his crotch pressed against her butt and he knew that. He also knew that if he kissed her neck or nibbled on her earlobe or ran the tip of his tongue along the shell of her ear, she'd be a quivering mess and he'd leave her like that, because he was an insufferable tease._

 _But that was them. That was their relationship. Their physical and mental attraction was palpable to anyone around them._

 _"So, when are you finally gonna kiss her?" Corey leaned on his pool cue, teasing smirk on his face._

 _"What makes you think I haven't?" Baron's eyes never left his impending shot_

 _He technically hadn't, but that wasn't the point._

 _"If you had, there's no way you wouldn't have kissed her with the way she wrapped around you a few minutes ago."_

 _"Shut up, Graves." He grumbled as hit the white cue ball into a solid blue one._

 _As the night went on, the group dwindled down to just Baron and Brennan._

 _"How is it that we're always the last two here out of all of our friends?"Baron looked around The Menace noticing that once again, he and Brennan were the last two standing; figuratively speaking._

 _She laid her head on his shoulder, looping her right arm through the bend of his left elbow. "Are you complaining about spending time with me?" She feigned hurt, placing her left hand over her heart._

 _He slightly turned his arm and laced his fingers with hers."I wouldn't dream of it."_

 _She lifted her head and stared at him._

 _' **You'll get sick of me eventually. They always do.'**_

 _"What?"He noticed the brief look of sadness that passed through her eyes, but as soon as it came it was gone._

 _"Nothing." She had a small smile on her lips as she stared at him._

 _"Are you ready to head out?"_

 _She nodded as he grabbed her jacket and purse for her. She was back to her regular height, having given up on the sexy ankle boots half way through the night. As she stood, she slipped back into her jacket and slung her purse strap over her shoulder. He slid out of the booth behind her, grabbing her hand as they made their way out of the bar._

 _The pair barely made it past the neon glow of the signs in the front window of The Menace before he stopped them from walking._

 _"What are you doing?"She giggled as he kind of spun her to rest her back against the brick building._

 _"Something I've wanted to do all night."_

 _Brennan quirked a perfectly arched eyebrow at him; she was curious as to what he meant. His right hand slowly lifted from his side as he rested it on the left side of her neck. His left hand still held her right one. She removed her hand from his, resting it on his lower back as he leaned in closer to her._

 _He was slow and deliberate as he kissed her. He wanted to savor that moment for as long as he could. She responded immediately. He knew her lips were soft from all the times she had peppered his face with playful kisses, but this kiss didn't compare. This was something different. This was something more. This was worth the wait._

 _He pulled away slowly, noticing that her eyes were still closed, but she was smiling._

 _"Do that again." Her breath was soft against his face._

 _He chuckled, but obliged her. This time her hand moved up to grip the back of his neck, applying more pressure. He groaned against her lips._

 _Their moment was short lived as a voice came from Baron's right. "Tom!"_

 _He pulled away from Brennan slowly as she wiped away the traces of her lipstick from his lips. He leaned his forehead against hers._

 _"Maybe if I don't respond, they'll leave us alone." He whispered causing Brennan to chuckle then bite her lip._

 _' **Please let this person…'**_

 _"There you are."  
_

 _' **Nevermind.'**_

 _He rolled his eyes, "Look, can I… Roxy?"His brown eyes finally registering the small blonde female._

 _"In the flesh, baby."_

 _"Baby?" Brennan spoke up. **'What's with these assholes and blondes?'** Her back was no longer resting against the brick siding of the building._

 _Baron's confused, nervous and slightly agitated gaze landed on Brennan before turning back to the smaller blonde woman._

 _"I've missed you so much, Thomas."_

 _"Roxy, I…"_

 _She grabbed him by the face and kissed him before he could finish his sentence. It was sloppy and wet and nothing like the kiss he had just shared with Brennan._

 _' **What the fuck is going on? What the hell is she doing here? Why the fuck is she kissing me? Fuck, Brennan.'**_

 _He pushed her away breaking the kiss he could only describe as disgusting and saw Brennan round the corner to the parking lot of The Menace._

 _"Roxy, what the fuck?" He growled._

 _"I missed you, baby, that's all."Her voice was high-pitched and borderline whiny. It was nothing like the low feminine rumble and slight rasp of Brennan's voice._

 _"I'm not your fucking baby. I never was. What are you even doing here?"He was frustrated by her mere presence._

 _"Well, after you blocked my number and I'm assuming my email addresses and changed yours, I decided I had to come see you. And I didn't appreciate how cozy you looked with that other girl. You're mine, remember?"All she needed was a pouty bottom lip and a foot stomp to look like the petulant child she was._

 _"Listen to me, I was never yours. We were never a thing. We had sex, twice at the most and that's it. I've told you this a million times. You need to get it through your head. This whole thing is done." He was infuriated. This woman had the most in-fucking-opportune timing on the face of the earth._

 _"I just wanted to see you, Thomas. Catch up and all. And you know we actually were a thing, even if it was short lived."_

 _"No, Rox. Stay away from me. I mean that shit. I don't want to have to get the cops involved, but I will."_

 _"There's no need for all of that. Maybe I overstepped my boundaries a little bit."_

 _"A little bit? You're fucking crazy, you know that?"He raised his voice._

 _"You used to love that about me."She shrank back some at his outburst._

 _He shook his head. "I used to love a lot of things about you, Rox. Mostly that you were good in bed and could do incredible things in the sack. Then I realized you were only using me for who I could potentially be in the NFL. Now, you show up out of nowhere pretending like everything is good? Not to mention, probably fucking up one of the best things I've had going for me in a relationship in a long ass time in the process. So thank you. I fucking hope all this bullshit was worth it."He turned to walk away from her._

 _"It was. I still love you." She called after him._

 _He whipped around and stalked back over to her. "Oh, you're so full of shit. You just can't stand the fact that I've moved on."_

 _She was quiet._

 _"I was in there the whole night and you never noticed me; not even once. You've got your head so far up that bitch's ass…"She spoke quietly before he cut her off._

 _"Hey, you watch your fucking mouth talking about her."His index finger was in her face._

 _"I never knew you liked black girls anyway."She folded her arms defiantly._

 _"That's because you don't fucking know me, Roxanne! Jesus fucking Christ! She could be fucking purple and I'd still be into her. Her ethnicity doesn't have shit to do with anything. Now please, go fucking climb back under the mound of hot garbage you came from and leave me the fuck alone."He was exasperated. This woman infuriated the shit out of him and he had no idea how in the small amount of time they had spent together, she figured out how to push every button he fucking had._

 _"Everything alright out here?"Dennis stepped outside the bar after watching the back and forth between Baron and Roxanne._

 _"No. Get her the hell away from me. Did you have something to do with this?" Baron's tone was accusatory. His eyes leaving Roxy to look at Dennis._

 _"What the hell are you even talking about Corbin?" Confusion laced Dennis' voice._

 _"I see the way you look at Brennan. I wouldn't be surprised if you cooked something up to try to take her from me."_

 _"You're out of your goddamn mind. First of all, I don't even know who this broad is."Dennis spoke as he pointed at Roxanne._

 _"Excuse you!" She screeched._

 _Both men ignored her._

 _"Second of all, why the fuck would I ruin her happiness? I don't give a fuck about you, but I've never seen her look the way she does when she's with you. Now, I warned your ass about hurting her and I see she's nowhere to be found. So, what the fuck did you do?" Dennis' voice was eerily calm._

 _"I don't have time for this." Baron stormed off._

 _"Baron!" Dennis called after him._

 _' **God fucking dammit.'** Dennis ran his hand over his hair as he stared off in the direction Baron had gone._

 _"I'm Roxanne." She stood there watching the exchange between Baron and Dennis. and as if a light bulb had just been turned on, she realized that Dennis was also a very attractive man._

 _"No one gives a shit." He shot over his shoulder at her before heading back inside the bar._

* * *

So, here's chapter 3. I see you guys. I appreciate the reviews, follows and favorites. I just suck at getting back to people individually. I would love to hear what you think and what could possibly be happening next. I already have the next chapter written, but I'm sure it needs some editing and fine tuning. All you writers understand where I'm coming from with that. I have a tumblr dedicated to my characters now. You can go check it out if you want. The url is the same as my pen name here. I suppose I should post a photo of Baron and Blue, eh? But yeah, review! Let me know what your thoughts.


	4. Chapter 4: Is Happiness a Mediocre Sin?

Chapter 4: Is Happiness a Mediocre Sin?

In the days after her argument with Baron, more things had come to light. Before she even arrived in Florida, he had hooked up with a girl named Zahra Schreiber. And before that, there was a brief on again off again series of trysts between him and the pixie princess, Alexa Bliss.

Brennan took it stride. What did it matter to her what he did? As far as she was concerned, they were done. But if that was true, why did it hurt so much? Why did it feel like she had to swallow down her heart every time she stepped inside the Full Sail Studios Live Arena?

She had become eerily quiet at work too. She would only speak if spoken to first. She was still as pleasant as ever, but something was off. Her smiles didn't reach her eyes anymore. It was a transparent front, but no one knew how to approach it. She stayed to herself, out of the way of others. She did what she was there to do and she left.

At night, she had started a new routine. Once she got home, she went straight into her bedroom to change her clothes and take off her jewelry. Then she went into her bathroom to take off her makeup and cleanse her face. Next, she headed down the hall and to the left into her kitchen. Her nightly meals had consisted of a tumbler of cold tequila until she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore while she sat on her couch.

After all, numb was still a feeling. And it sure beat the hell out of sitting around crying.

Brennan was walking out of her kitchen when there was a knock at her door. _'Please deities, have my back tonight. Don't let it be Tommy or Alexa... Or anyone from work actually.'_ She took a deep steadying breath, not bothering to look through the peephole, figuring whomever was on the other side of the door obviously knew she was home.

They knocked again. "Come on, B. I know you're in there."

 _'Great. Thanks deities, I guess two out of three ain't so bad.'_

She slowly opened the door. The light in the hallway was much brighter than the dimness of her apartment. She reached to her left to turn on the light in her breakfast nook.

"What are you doing here, Corey?" She left the door open for him as she turned and trudged the several feet to her living room.

"Hello, it's nice to see you too, Brennan." Sarcasm dripped from his voice as he closed the door behind him.

She cut her eyes towards him as he flopped down on the end of the couch closest to the door. She stayed quiet, waiting for him to speak.

He took in her appearance. She was causally draped in black leggings and a black racer back tank top. Her braids were growing out and her natural tightly curled, dark, dirty blonde hair was starting to show more prominently at her scalp. Her usual warm playful eyes looked empty and cold. Her skin looked even paler than usual and the dark circles under her eyes looked like she either hadn't been sleeping well or she wasn't sleeping at all. All in all, she looked miserable, sad, distraught, and tired; she looked like shit.

She took a drink from her glass, staring straight ahead at the darkened flat TV screen. She swirled the liquid in her glass absentmindedly before taking a long gulp. She rose from her spot on the couch and walked behind it, past the small three seat bar off of her kitchen counter before she opened the refrigerator freezer door. Corey watched her, trying to see what see was drinking but she was blocking his view. He noticed she scrubbed her face with her left hand before she grabbed her glass again taking a sip.

"Do you want anything while I'm up?" Her voice startled him a bit.

"A beer if you have one, please." His voice seemed too loud for how quiet and solemn her place felt.

She shoved whatever she was drinking back into the freezer before she opened the refrigerator door and grabbed a beer. He heard her rummaging through a drawer. When she returned she handed him a cold Bud Light and a bottle opener.

"Thanks."

She gave him a curt nod in response.

"What are you doing here, Graves?" She had leaned forward, her elbows resting on her thighs, her right palm was downward, holding her glass.

"I figured you could use the company."

She turned her head slowly to look at him. He took a drink of his beer. She sat back, scrubbing her face with her left hand, her eyes leaving Corey.

"That's cute, but what are you really doing here? You gotta report back to home base with news about me?" She was looking at him again. He felt like she was looking through him though.

He grabbed a coaster on the coffee table and sat his beer on it.

"We're worried about you." He rubbed his right hand back and forth on his jean clad thigh.

She smiled, but something about it wasn't happy.

"I'm fine, can't you tell?" She turned her gaze to the floor.

"Look, I'm really not in the mood for your sarcasm."

She slammed her glass down on the table. The liquid sloshed around in the glass at the amount of force she used, but there wasn't enough for it to come over the edges of the glass.

"And I'm not in the mood period, Corey. So tell me what you want or get the hell out. It's that simple."

"I just fucking told you why I'm here. We're worried. You've been avoiding all of us like the fucking plague. You haven't been out with us. Our friendship has become less than a fucking acquaintanceship since you barely fucking even acknowledge our existences. That's not you, Blue. This isn't you. What the fuck is going on?"

"What do you want me to tell you?" He could barely make out what she said. "I told you I was fine."

"Bullshit."

She smiled that same empty smile. And every time she did, it felt like he was getting ice water dumped over his head. It was unsettling to see.

"Tommy told me you had a run in with Roxy."

She made a derisive sound through her nose. "Is that what he told you? More like he had a run in with Roxy. It was a really spectacular 'suck your face off' reunion I got to witness. Let me tell you, I couldn't wait to get away from it." She grabbed her glass and drained the contents. She blinked rapidly, as if something was in both eyes. "Then, we got in this huge argument about it and he threw Dennis in my face. And you know, I'm not one to keep secrets so I told him about Dennis and then Tommy took off. Next thing I know, some black haired boxed-dye broad is telling me how she used to fuck him and so did Alexa. Alexa, of all fucking people! But you know... At least she had the spine to own up to it. She even apologized for not telling me. And now... Now I'm coping."

"Sitting in your dark ass apartment drinking is not coping. It's self-medicating and wallowing."

Her gaze was down, focusing on her pedicured toes.

"Brennan, look at me."

She shook her head.

"I know we all handle shit differently, but bottling this up isn't good." He had gotten on his knees in front of her. He didn't know why, but he wanted to her to understand that he was there for her. It didn't matter whether she was smiling and laughing or feeling lower than low; she needed to know he had her back.

He heard her sniffle as she scrubbed her face again. This time he caught a glimpse of the script font going down her left forearm. "What's this say?" He grabbed her arm reading her tattoo.

Wet hazel eyes lifted to meet his gaze. The same eerie empty smile graced her face. "Is happiness a mediocre sin?" Tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

"I don't understand." He searched her face.

"To most, I suppose it would be a mediocre thing, happiness. That's the goal. That's the journey and the destination. But for some us, it's the greatest sin of all." She pulled her arm away and wiped at her eyes. Corey's eyebrows furrowed which caused Brennan to let out a watery chuckle. "We all experience happiness. Embrace it, welcome it and then some of us that have had that experience have realized that it'll be short lived and will end up hurt." She pushed her braids back from her face.

"How does that make it a sin?" He moved from his spot on the floor in front of her back to beside her on the couch.

"You have to decide if the happiness you want to experience is going to be worth the pain you're going to have to endure in the end when things fall apart." She folded her hands and rested her chin on her interlocked fingers.

Corey stared at the side of her face, taking in what she had explained. "Is he worth it?"

She turned to him, her eyes shining with unshed tears, "Absolutely."

* * *

Whaaaaat? Two chapters in one week? That's gotta be a record for my lazy butt. A few things, the title of this chapter comes from the song by the same title by one of my all time favorite bands, The Color Morale. This chapter is loosely inspired by the song and its lyrics. The other things are, I highly suggest you check them (The Color Morale) out, review and leave me your thoughts/comments/suggestions and… I can't remember what else. Ha, hope you all enjoy this chapter.


	5. Chapter 5: Blossoming

_Thanks for the patience. Life got in the way of both myself and my lovely beta AeonBlue, but here's an update._

 _Annnnd here we go..._

* * *

Chapter 5: Blossoming

A week had gone by since Corey had unexpectedly dropped by Brennan's apartment. He hadn't mentioned the talk he had with her after she voiced her thoughts on him checking up on her just to go tell everyone even though Alexa and Baron knew he went over to see her. He also assumed she mainly meant Baron. He hadn't promised her he wouldn't speak of their conversation, but if he wanted to keep her trust he was going to keep his mouth shut until he absolutely had to spill the beans; which would probably be sooner rather than later if Baron didn't stop hounding him about it.

As Corey walked into the NXT training facility in Orlando, Baron was in his ear; just as Corey expected him to be.

"I know you've talked to her." Baron spoke quietly.

Corey rolled his eyes, sighing at his best friend's persistence as walked through the building, past the wrestling rings towards the weight room. "I haven't spoken to her in a week, Tommy. It's also great to see you. It's awesome to greet your friend instead of automatically jumping down his throat about a girl." After entering the weight room, Corey dropped his duffel bag by his feet folding his arms.

"What did she tell you?" Baron insisted.

Corey narrowed his eyes at Baron. He wasn't sure if the bigger man was being serious or not with his line of questioning.

"Why don't you ask her?"

"I've been trying. She's ignoring my calls and texts."

' _Maybe you should take a hint and lay off for a little while.'_ Corey thought before he spoke.

"I don't know what to tell you." Corey could see the stress and worry written all over Baron's face. If Brennan didn't want to talk to him, neither of them could force her to.

The two of them walked over to the treadmills to begin a short cardio warm up; both silent until Baron spoke up.

"Look, man I'm sorry. I'm just worried about her. I need to talk to her and clear things up. I just don't think she'd appreciate me showing up at her place unannounced."

Corey looked to his right at Baron. "I get it. It's up to you to figure out how to get her to talk to you."

"You don't have any ideas?" Baron slowed his treadmill, looking at Corey.

Corey mulled over Baron's question. He had ideas, sure. But would they work?

"I don't know, T. Maybe try some corny romance shit." Corey slowed his treadmill, glancing at Baron.

"That's deep, Corey, really." They stepped from their treadmills, heading over to the bench press.

"Look, I'm married. I just know to buy flowers and chocolate or to take the kids off of her hands for the day if I screw up. These new complicated relationships aren't my thing."

"So, your answer is flowers?" Baron spoke as he placed his hands on his hips; his face contorted in an expression that said you've got to be fucking kidding me.

Corey shrugged. "It's worth a shot. Maybe do it in a creative way."

Baron gave him a disbelieving look. "Does Brennan seem like the type of girl that wants flowers?"

"It's better than your ass not doing anything; whether she's a girl that likes flowers or not. She would most definitely appreciate the gesture." Corey spoke as he took position behind the head of the bench preparing to spot for Baron.

"This shouldn't be this hard." Baron grumbled as he lay back on the bench, positioning his hands on the bar.

"Do you want her?"

Baron attempted to shoot Corey a dirty look, but from his position on the bench, looked like he was just staring up at Corey.

"Answer my question, bone head." Corey playfully hit Baron in the head for emphasis.

Baron sat up to get away from anymore of Corey's attempts at hitting him again. "You know I do; more than anything."

"Is she worth you racking your brain to figure out how to make this right?"

Shaking his head, Baron mumbled, "Matt, I swear to god…"

"Answer the question."

"Yes! She's worth whatever hell she decides to put me through for this. Or the hell you're attempting to put me through right now." Baron reached up and pulled the hair tie from his hair, running his fingers through before resting his elbows on his thighs, toying with the elastic band.

"Then you'll figure this out. You'll do whatever it is you have to do. You don't need my help. You know her better than any of us do. Make this right, Tom and get your girl back. You're even more insufferable without her around."

Baron narrowed his eyes at his friend, but responded in a curt nod. Corey wasn't wrong. He'd been more standoffish and temperamental in the past two weeks than he had ever been. At work, it was like he was invisible to Brennan. She made sure to avoid him at all costs. If he ever saw her, it was in catering and it was for a brief minute or two. Just long enough for her to grab a bottle of water or a granola bar and fruit. He would drop by hair and makeup to find the space empty. He was getting desperate – and agitated. Her absence had been shorter than the one at the beginning of their… Well, what the hell could they even call it? Baron had thought about cornering her numerous times, just so she'd talk to him, but if he knew her like he thought he did, she wouldn't hesitate to knee him in the groin just to get away.

With his workout long forgotten about, Baron was left with his thoughts. _'How can I let her know I'm thinking about her without coming on too strong by using fucking flowers? Flowers… What kind of flowers should I use? Roses are probably too romantic. Hey, that awkward moment when you don't know shit about flowers.'_

"This is insane. How am I going to do this?" he mumbled as he walked outside to go to his truck. He was parked in front of a section of grass with a small patch of flowers; small white petals and a yellow center growing when suddenly a light bulb came on. Daisies; he remembered Brennan's lion tattoo on her right thigh. There were daisies and sunflowers in the lion's mane. He knew she had multiple roses tattooed on her too, but in this situation, he didn't want to seem like he was trying too hard to win her over. The daisies seemed more personal and low key to him. After putting together a plan in his head, he picked one small daisy and began looking for her unusually dusty green Toyota Camry.

* * *

Another week had passed with no communication between him and Brennan. While he usually would be at his wit's end with the whole situation, he found the familiar bubbling sensation of hope. He hadn't seen her reaction to finding the lone daisy under her windshield wiper blade, but throughout the past week, he noticed she had taken to wearing the daisies behind her ear. The day before, he had taped a single daisy to the mirror on the vanity in the area for hair and makeup. He didn't know when she'd be in the room, or even if she'd be the one to find it, but by happenstance he had been walking by when it was indeed Brennan that found the flower. She had stared at the small flower before carefully peeling the tape away from its delicate stem. He noticed the small smile gracing her lips as she pulled her long freshly done blue braids on top of her head and began to wind and twist them until she stuck the end piece around the messy, twisty ball. She grabbed the small flower and gently placed it into the side of her messy bun. She hadn't noticed him or the small smile on his face as he walked away. She had no idea.

Today, however, Baron was hoping would be the coup de grace to their silence. Three weeks of seeing her at work, but not speaking had been torture. He could and would hold out for her; he had been all this time. He had plenty of time to think about what had happened between them during the silence. He spent plenty of nights fiddling with his phone, debating calling her just once to hear her voice, but always talked himself out of it, figuring she wouldn't answer as soon as she saw his name and picture pop up on the screen. He had moments of wondering whether or not she hated him for not having control of the situation with Roxy, or if she hated him for questioning her about Dennis, or if he had done anything else to set her off in their time together for her to resort to nearly complete radio silence.

Usually, this kind of stuff would roll from his shoulders, but Brennan wasn't his usual. Women like Roxy were. If it had been Roxy he wouldn't have cared less, but this was Brennan; Blue, his Blue. This was the woman it took him a month and some creepy ass drunk guy hitting on her to get him to talk to her. The woman he had spent countless nights with keeping his hands to himself when all he wanted was kiss her until their lips hurt. She was the woman who invited him over to her place for homemade hamburgers, cold beer and a football game on a Monday night instead of hanging at The Menace. The woman who made it take no extra effort on her part to compel him to fall for her. He missed her like crazy. He missed her so much he felt his heart tighten like a fist every time he saw her. He just wanted her in his arms again or for one last time if this was going to be the end of them.

He was standing on the Main Street pier at Daytona Beach's Joyland boardwalk looking out over the expanse of the Atlantic Ocean. He had sent Brennan a flower arrangement of sunflowers, white roses and daisies with a card that read, 'Our first unofficial date. Meet me.' He had hoped to ALL of the deities that the message wasn't too vague and that she'd show up. Daytona Beach was a tourist attraction in itself and a fun short getaway for locals. Baron had taken Brennan on the short hour drive when she mentioned she hadn't been to a boardwalk of any sort since she was a child. He wanted to see her out of her shell with no one she knew around but him. Her childlike enthusiasm about winning skee ball and eating cotton candy made him smile like an idiot. She had grabbed and held his hand a lot that day. They shared popcorn and spent part of the night trying to throw and catch the popped kernels while sitting on a bench on the pier. In the multiple times that they went, it was then that Baron knew she was the woman he could fall in love with. He could see them there during the summer with a kid or two of their own. He'd never admit it out loud though. He still wasn't willing to put that into the universe just yet.

"Tommy." Her voice broke him out of his reverie.

He turned his head slowly to look over his shoulder at his blue haired beauty. It was the first thing he had heard her say in weeks. His eyes searched her face, which had rectangular black framed glasses perched on her nose, before they drifted down her body. She was casually dressed, her braids were pulled into a high ponytail, her face had very little makeup on it, but he could tell she was tired. She was focused on him.

"Hey."

"Daytona, huh?"

"I thought it would be nice to get away."

She smirked and nodded her head.

"I wanted to talk."

"Is that why you picked a public place instead of one our places? So I couldn't lose my shit again?"

"I wanted you to know it was me."

Another smile and nod. "What made you pick daises?"

"Your lion tattoo."

Hazel eyes gazed into his brown ones. He reached out to her offering her a seat on the bench that was separating them.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Baron was sitting face towards the open water and Brennan sitting with her body facing Baron.

"What did you want to talk about?" She finally broke the silence.

He turned slowly again to look at her. "Us, mostly. I wanted to say my piece about Roxy and Dennis." He noticed her visibly tense at the mention of their names.

"Wait, before you start, I want to apologize." She moved closer to him. His brow was creased in confusion.

"Apologize for what?"

"For overreacting about the situation with Roxy. I saw her kiss you. I know she initiated the kiss." Baron looked away rolling his eyes, but Brennan pressed on. "It's just that in that instant I felt like the same shit that always happens to me, was happening again. It was just that this time it was right in front of me. I feel like every time I think I'm getting a bit of the happiness I've been craving for so long, I get lied to or played for a fool or left alone altogether. And I just automatically thought it was happening again and I freaked the fuck out. And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve that." She wiped away the few tears that trailed down her cheeks as she looked at him. "I just had to get that…."

Baron leaned into her, pressing his lips against hers, effectively killing the words on her tongue. He could feel the wetness of her tears on his cheeks. She held his face in her hands, her thumbs stroking his jaw on both side. He slowly pulled away resting his forehead on hers. She let out a watery chuckle.

"I'm sorry too. I never expected to see Roxy again for the rest of my life, in all honesty. Roxy is a leech. When I met her, I was just getting started on my NFL career. I obviously wasn't a starter, but she was okay with that. And because she was okay with that, so was I. She was down for whatever I wanted to do. But as time went on, I realized that Roxy was just using me to try to get someone better on the roster. Someone with more money, more prestige, more… whatever the hell she was after. And after I figured her out and learned I was getting cut from the team and told her, she was for all intents and purposes, was done with me and our situation."

He took a deep cleansing breath before he continued. "Then I guess, after I left and decided to pursue professional wrestling, she couldn't get anybody better and circled back around to me. But by then I had moved and was training and wasn't worried about shit in Arizona. Then the excessive phone calls, emails texts starting rolling in; I had to change my phone number and get rid of the email address and it stopped. But now, somehow, she's figured out that I'm Baron Corbin NXT superstar and she's wanting to sink her claws back in."

He paused briefly searching Brennan's face. "But it's different now. I'm different. I have this new career that I'm not going to let her destroy. I have a new found determination and focus. And I'm more involved with a woman than I ever expected myself to be involved with. And I'll be damned if I let Roxy take any of that away from me."

Brennan was pressed into his right side. His arm draped around her shoulder. She stayed quiet letting it all sink in.

"And as for Dennis…" He went on, "I had no business coming at you like I did over him. I had no right, but something about him didn't sit right with me."

"What even made you think I had a history with him?"

"The way he was looking at you the first night we kissed and how he acted outside of the bar after I blew up at Roxy."

She pulled away slightly, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you looked good enough to eat in that skirt and those boots. He couldn't keep his eyes off of you and it made my blood boil."

"Jealousy isn't a good shade on you."

"I know. You didn't seem to notice the attention you were getting."

"I noticed it. It just didn't matter. I only wanted one man's attention and I had it. That's all that mattered to me."

' _How can she be this impossibly sexy?'_

"Fuck…" Baron grumbled shaking his head before leaning in and kissing her again. He'd never get tired of that.

"What happened outside the bar?"

"He came out after I told Roxy off. He was questioning me about what happened and I accused him of sitting the whole thing up to break up what we were just starting. He denied it, of course, because there was literally no way he could've known Roxy. Then he said some shit about he didn't care about me and all he cared about was your happiness."

"My happiness?"

"That's what he said. He said he had never seen you as happy as you were when you were with me."

"Dennis doesn't give a shit about my happiness. I'm glad you went home to change and then came to my place, because this story would be a lot different right now."

He chuckled, "How so?"

"I'd probably be in jail." He full on laughed at that. "He would've come by as soon as the bar was closed and tried to play the 'I'm sorry you're hurting if you need a shoulder to lean on, I'm here for you' card as a means to get back in my good graces, but I'm sure with his wife being pregnant, he had to go straight home."

"That could've been you."

"What could've been me?"

They stood and began walking back towards the end of the pier on the shore, towards the boardwalk.

"You could be the one pregnant, waiting at home for Dennis to show up." As they walked, their hands brushed and she grabbed his hand much like their very first night and intertwined their fingers.

They both felt the overwhelming feeling of calmness and peace wash over them.

"Why would you put that into the universe, Thomas? And thank god it's not me. I'd be so pissed."

"Why would you be pissed?" He suddenly tensed at her response.

"I mean, Dennis is a decent guy, minus the shitty things he's done to me, but looking back, he wasn't the one for me. All of that happened for a reason. And could you imagine what my kid with Dennis would look like?"

"I'm not entirely sure I'm the person you should be asking that."

"Well… Have you imagined…" She started then let the question die on her tongue.

' _Ah for fucks sake, Brennan.'_ She mentally face palmed. Was she really going to open this can of worms?

"Have I imagined what?" He spoke as he glanced at her.

"Nothing."

"Oh, come on. I haven't had any of your quirky little theories to analyze for weeks. Tell me."

"It's not a theory."

"Tell me anyway."

' _You asked for it.'_ Yes, she was definitely going to open this can of worms.

"Fine, I was going to ask if you had imagined what our kids would look like. But we haven't even had sex yet. And I don't want to think about that really until we've had sex at least three times." She teased.

Baron chuckled, "Three times, huh? You wanna talk about kids the first night?"

She playfully slapped him in the stomach. "What makes you think you can last that long?"

"Oh baby, you have no idea."

"Neither do you."

They were quiet as they walked hand in hand.

"I'm really sorry for being such a pain in your ass about this."

"It's okay. I get it. We've talked, it's done; let's just leave it at that. Besides, you're a pain in my somewhere else."

"Oh my god, Tommy, shut up." She chuckled.

* * *

"Home sweet home." Brennan spoke as she pushed open the door to her apartment. After removing the key from the lock, she blindly reached behind her for Baron's wrist, pulling him inside. He chuckled as he tried not to step on the backs of her feet, before he took his wrist from her grasp and wrapped his arm around her waist, lifting her from the floor. She made a sound that was a combination of shock and a squeal. He carried her down the hall and to the left into her bedroom.

"I don't know what you think is going to happen, sir." She spoke as she stepped closer to the bed.

He closed small distance between them, his fingers sliding along the side of her neck, curling around to grip her neck as he pressed a long hard kiss to her lips. He licked his lips, before whispering in Brennan's ear. "I thought I'd go lock door before we got comfortable." He backed away from her with a mischievous smirk on his lips.

"You're such a tease, Thomas Pestock!" She shouted after him. She toed out of her sneakers before she climbed into bed and laid directly in the middle of it.

"Move over."

"I can't."

"Well, I guess I'm just gonna have to…" He fell into bed, catching himself as to not head butt Brennan in the chest or really crush her into the mattress.

"You're also a child. Get off of me." She struggled against his weight and pushed at him.

"Nope."

"Can I at least move my legs?"

He climbed off of her, standing as she still stayed in the middle of the bed, but moved further up towards the headboard. "Okay, now you can lay down." Her legs were bent at the knee and as he laid down, he gripped her thighs, wrapping each of her legs around his hips. His head was resting on her chest, listening to her heartbeat. After a few minutes, she was running her fingers through his hair.

"Stop, you're gonna make me fall asleep." He kissed her covered collarbone before moving to the side of her neck.

"You're being a tease again."

He lifted up and slid down the bed before standing.

"What are you doing?"

"I know how much you hate sleeping in jeans." He deftly unbuckled her belt and began undoing her skinny jeans. She lifted her butt and hips so he could wiggle them off, taking her black socks with them. She sat up and tossed her black hoodie at him too. He had a playful smile on his lips as he took in her appearance. He knew she still needed to take off her glasses and makeup and take her ponytail down, but she looked amazing in cotton black cheeky panties and her Avenged Sevenfold shirt. He was 100% certain she was wearing a black bra under the shirt too.

"What?"

"You're gorgeous, you know that?"

"Nah… But this one guy with long hair and tattoos tells me whenever it suits him." She sat up and got on her knees, walking on them until she got to Baron. She went about undoing the buttons on his shirt, running her hands across his broad shoulders, making an inverted triangle shape as she moved from his shoulders diagonally across his chest until she ran both hands down his flat stomach.

He watched her intently. There wasn't anything sexually charged about the way she was touching him. This wasn't a new thing. She had traced over almost every inch of his body, as he had done hers. It was a test of wills and neither of them were willing to crack. It was meant to be innocent. It was a way to get reacquainted without the expectation of sex.

His brain comprehended that, but his dick didn't. He knew that Brennan knew what kind of effect she had on him. She had felt it plenty of times and while most of the women he had come across and grown fond of would've shied away, Brennan usually surprised him with a breathy sigh or some smart ass quip about him being happy to see her. But for the sake of their "situationship" he had always backed down from going any further even though he wanted more. Deep down he knew tonight would be no different. He and Brennan had just gotten back on the same page and he wasn't about to complicate the whole thing by trying to dick her down the first time he got the chance.

' _Think of anything else right now because once she gets my pants off and she notices I'm getting hard, I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to stop myself tonight. I'll try like hell, but I might just cave to whatever she wants; if she wants anything like that tonight.'_

Brennan had his belt, button and fly undone. She was still on her knees, but her body was pressed against his. Her lips were leaving feather light kisses on his neck and her hands sliding down his back before resting on his ass. He was sure she could feel his erection pressing against her stomach.

"I've missed you."

He barely made out her words over the sound of his blood rushing through his ears.

"I've missed you too, but this isn't what I had in mind for tonight."

She pulled away slightly, with a devilish glint in her eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Remember when I said you were a pain in my somewhere else? This is exactly what I meant." He playfully pushed her backwards on the bed before climbing on top of her again. He leaned down towards her, his hair creating a small veil.

"There's lube in the drawer if you need it." She joked just as his lips were about to meet hers.

"You're such a pain in my dick, Brennan." He grumbled as he rolled off of her and on to his back. She laughed at him as she rolled out of bed to go take off her makeup.

When she came back into her room, Baron was underneath her dark purple sheets. She had a queen sized bed and she fit perfectly, but Baron hung off of it. It always amused her to see him try to fit on her bed lengthwise, but it always added up to some much adored spooning time. Seeing him in her bed was something she could get use to.

She chucked her t-shirt in the direction of the hamper, the noise causing Baron to look in her direction, before climbing into bed.

' _Always in a black bra.'_ He thought as she pressed herself against his right side.

"So, I have to ask. Whose idea was it for the flowers?"

Baron chuckled, "Where are they anyway? Did you throw them away?"

She draped her right leg over his and her arm over his waist. "The daisies are in a small jar on my coffee table and the bigger arrangement are on the breakfast nook table as a center piece."

"So I take it you liked them?" His fingertips danced across her shoulder blades. She only nodded. "They were Corey's idea. He said flowers and candy usually got him out of shit so I went with flowers even though I wasn't exactly sure how you'd react to them. You've told me on plenty of occasions you're not a flowers type of girl and I told Corey that too. But in his infinite wisdom, he told me you'd appreciate the gesture."

"We should start calling Corey Master Splinter or Yoda or something because that was really wise."

"You still aren't a flowers type of girl though, right?"

"Right, but I really did appreciate the gesture." She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

"Is that all I get, a measly kiss on the cheek? I left daisies on your car and at your spot in hair and makeup."

"Ah, quit your whining."

"Give me a real kiss and I will."

She narrowed her eyes at him with a small smile playing on her lips. He stared at her expectantly, playfully batting his eyelashes.

She laughed at him, "You're such a fucking goober, I swear."

"Yeah, but you like it." He spoke positively and gripped her right thigh pulling her on top of him.

Their eyes locked. It looked like there was something Brennan wanted to say to him, but as soon as it was in her eyes, it was gone. She leaned down and pecked him hastily and tried to resume her spot next to him.

"Hey! Not so fast. I've literally gotten better kisses than that from Xander."

"You did not just compare me to your dog!" She playfully smacked him on the chest, causing him to laugh.

He sat up, having her slide down more so into his lap. "You definitely give better kisses than him and I'd much rather kiss you, but that was a shitty kiss and you know it."

"I can't believe you just compared me to your dog, you asshole." She chuckled as he reached up to hold her chin between his thumb and forefinger.

"But I'm your asshole if you want me." He placed a chaste kiss on her lips.

She broke the brief kiss, resting her forehead against his, "You're all I've wanted for months, Tommy." She pulled away, her thumb running up and down the back of his neck, staring into his eyes.

"Yeah?" His arms were loosely wrapped around her hips. He adjusted his arms a bit gave them a gentle squeeze encouraging her to go on.

"I know you doubted it there for a second, but yeah. I've known since… Since we crammed ourselves in that tiny ass photo booth in Daytona."

He chuckled at the memory. It took them one whole strip of the machine snapping photos of them to even get situated. They took another set and split them both in half. It was a well kept secret that he kept his halves in his wallet.

"This means I can now officially call you my girlfriend."

She smiled without showing her teeth as she shook her head. "And I can officially call you my asshole."

He playfully growled at her as he gripped her ass and pressed an aggressive kiss to her lips, causing her to whimper. She rutted her hips against his. He flipped them over and pressed the beginnings of his erection against her warmness.

"Easy, wolf boy, we just got you settled." Her voice lowered and held a teasing edge.

He growled again, "You really are a pain in my dick, B."

She chuckled before she pulled him in for another scorching kiss.

* * *

 _You know what to do. And if you're new here, that means please leave a review, (or several), favorite and/or follow. I appreciate any and all feedback from anyone willing to take the time to give it._


	6. Chapter 6: Flowers Don't Bloom Without W

_I'm notorious for these two chapter updates in one day, aren't I? I doubt anyone reading has a problem with that though._

 _That M rating is in full effect in this chapter. That's it. That's the warning, lol._

* * *

Chapter 6: Flowers Don't Bloom Without Water and Sunshine

The next morning, Brennan woke slowly. She took a deep breath in through her nose and back out. She kept her eyes closed as she rubbed her left eye and scrubbed her hand along her face. The longer she laid there, the more the events from the previous night flooded her mind. A small smile touched her lips. It was the first time in a long time she had ever woken up feeling happy and content; even though her bed was empty.

She wasn't alarmed by that fact. She had felt Tommy get out of bed. She had felt the kiss he dropped on her cheek. And she could hear him going through her cabinets in the kitchen.

Chuckling to herself, Brennan got up and grabbed Tommy's plaid shirt off of her floor and slipped it on before taking her dark purple silk bonnet off of her head, exposing her blue braids. She exited her bedroom and made her way to the kitchen. Her eyes settled on Tommy's muscular back as he waited for her Keurig Brewer to kick on; for coffee she was sure of. She approached him quietly, wrapping her arms around his waist; she buried her face in his back. He immediately rested his arms on top of hers.

"Mornin'." She mumbled into his skin as she kissed his back. She noticed the goosebumps rising on his skin.

"Mornin'." He spoke as he did a weird reach around; trying to pull her around to his front. "That's better." He smiled down at her as his hands rested along either side of her neck. Her hands pulled him flush against her, resting on his lower back. He leaned in at a downward angle capturing her lips in a sweet, but sweltering kiss.

She moaned into his mouth as their tongues dueled. His hands began their descent down her body following the outer curve of her breasts; his fingertips lightly trailing down her rib cage; before curving over the swell of her hips. He squeezed them, before lifting her to sit on the counter as their kiss ended.

Her legs opened to accommodate his body; wrapping loosely around him as her arms draped over his shoulders; her fingers interlacing as they rested at the base of his skull.

"You're one hell of a distraction." He chuckled before he kissed her again. This time much more chastely. "I forgot about my coffee."

"Well, if that's the case, you enjoy that coffee. I'm gonna go shower and get ready for work." Her voice held a teasing lilt.

He gripped her legs tighter, but took a small step back, making her eyes to go wide. He squatted down and pulled her off the counter, laying her over his shoulder. She let out a string of swears at him for scaring her. He playfully smacked her on the ass as he carried her to the bathroom.

"You're a fucking jerk." She joked as she swatted him in the chest.

"You're welcome, brat." He teased back before stealing another kiss. "Hey, turn that on and I'll join you. I've gotta run to my truck." He spoke as walked back into her bedroom.

She took his shirt off and then her bra.

"You want your shirt?" She called out to him.

"What?" His eyes landed on her and her bare breasts. She was brushing her teeth, the slight movement of her right arm making her breasts jiggle. She spit the foam from her toothpaste in the sink, turning slightly to look at him.

"Do you want your shirt?"

 _'No, but goddamn do I want you.'_

"Uh... No. No. I'll be right back." He stuttered before walking away.

Brennan smirked at her reflection in the mirror. _'God, I love being such a tease.'_

By the time she finished brushing her teeth and washing her face, Tommy was back. She turned the shower on all the way to hot so the pipes would warm. As she was adjusting the temperature, Tommy came in behind her, gripping her hips, pulling her ass against the beginnings of his erection. She bit her lip, trying not to smile.

"You think it's cute to tease me like that, don't you?" He harshly whispered in her ear.

"I do, actually." She pressed her ass harder into him.

"Oh, is that so?" His left hand moved up to grip her left breast.

"Mmhmm. I love seeing the reaction I get from you." She breathed out as his lips met the left side of her neck.

"Is this a good enough reaction for you, baby?" He bit down where her neck met her shoulder as his right hand opened her thick thighs and pushed her panties to the side. He used his index and middle fingers to open her sex before slowly running his fingers along her wetness then back up to circle her clit. She bucked slightly at the sensation as a small satisfied sound fell from her lips. He surged forward pressing her into the wall. She moaned then, reaching back trying to rid him of his jeans and boxer briefs. He pulled his body away from hers, keeping his ministrations on her clit. She groaned in both pleasure and frustration.

"Tommy..." She whined.

"Patience, baby. Be a good girl and let me take care of you, okay?"

She nodded as he completely removed his hands from her body. Her body was primed, teased and he was just getting warmed up. She stayed leaning against the wall. He stripped his clothes off then returned back to her. He trailed kisses from her neck; bending down kissing to the dip in her lower back. His large fingers curled inside the waistband of her panties, slowly pulling them from her body, his lips following the fabric. He repeated the process until he was upright, looming over her. He slowly turned her around, her eyes trailed his body before he tipped her chin up to lock eyes with him.

"We better get in before we run out of hot water."

"I need a cold shower." She commented as they entered the shower.

He laughed, "Aw, we aren't done."

She gave him a disbelieving look; a look that caused a devious expression to grace his face. He pulled her into him, kissing her deeply. His hand gripping the back of her neck as her fingernails lightly dragged along his lower back. He walked forward backing her up until her back was against the cool tile. She hissed at the sensation, momentarily breaking their kiss, but pulled him back in. Her aggressiveness made him swell with pride and smile against her lips.

He broke their kiss, licking her lips with the tip of his tongue. She smiled at him as he turned his attention to her neck and breasts. Her head lolled backwards, leaning against the wall of the shower as Tommy dropped to his knees in front of her. He lifted her left leg, draping it over his shoulder as he dropped open mouthed kisses to her inner thigh. She whimpered, gripping his hair. He let out a sound between a growl and a moan at her pulling his hair.

He licked her sex once from bottom to top. "You don't like being teased, do you Flower?"

"No!"

"That's interesting." He lathed another slow, long lick to her.

"God, stop talking. Just... Just..."

"Just what?" He challenged as he licked her once again then sucked her bundle of nerves between his lips. She moaned at the sensation.

"Talk to me, Flower. What do you want me to do?" He watched her from his position on his knees.

"Fuck, Tommy. Eat me. I want you to eat me. Please." She begged pushing his face deeper into her. He smiled against her sex and began his quest to drive his girl, his Blue, to orgasm. And much to his surprise it didn't take long. Once his fingers were introduced into the equation, she was a goner. His name was tumbling from her lips was music to his ears and as her leg quivered and her sex spasmed around his fingers was a sight for sore eyes.

He held her steady as he stood to his full height. He lifted her smaller body, wrapping her legs around his waist, crossing at her ankles. Their eyes locked and the same look he noticed the night before was there, but in this moment was tinged with lust. He searched her face before kissing her deeply as he moved them so she was against the wall again. He positioned himself at her entrance. He placed another hot, needy kiss to her lips as he pushed inside of her. She gasped, stretching to accommodate him. He pulled away from their kiss, resting his forehead against hers. They were in sync. Their eyes opened at the same time, focusing on each other. No words were spoken as he began to slowly move in and out of her. He loved how her face contorted in pleasure; how her hands and lips scrambled for purchase on any part of his slick skin; how her moans and groans echoed and resonated with him. As he watched her, he knew neither of them were going to last long. Not this time at least. He groaned into the side of her neck, making her let out a breathy chuckle quickly followed by a moan.

"Harder, mon rayon de soleil." The need in her voice spurred him on. The moan of satisfaction went straight to his balls. This woman was going to be the death of him. The way her body was reacting to him, her short nails scratching his back, her hips grinding into his, her biting his neck as well as nipping his lips, he knew. She was close. He could feel it. And in that moment, he made a silent vow to himself that whenever they made love or fucked, he'd make damn sure she'd always get hers first; multiple times if he had his way. Nothing compared to watching her fall apart in his arms.

He whispered to her, kissing and nibbling on her ear, "Cum for me, Flower." He kissed down her jaw until he reached her mouth, jack hammering in and out of her until her whole body tensed, her sex gripping him tightly. He held her close, swallowing her moans until her body started to relax. He pulled out of her holding her against him, as she reached between them.

"Fuck, Brennan." He groaned out as she stroked him.

"Tu ne sors jamais sans. Pas avec moi, mon rayon de soleil."

Their eyes locked again. Her hand and wrist were working him in an up and down slightly twisting motion. He pressed his forehead against hers, leaning in to capture her lips, his hands gripping her hips, fingertips digging into her skin as his body shuddered and his orgasm ripped through him; coming out in long thick white ropes, covering her hand and stomach.

"Fuck." He breathlessly drew out the word. His kiss was hard and aggressive. She melted into him, loving his rougher, slightly more dominant side. After they broke the kiss, she looked up at him, licking her hand, tasting their essences. His jaw dropped as they untangled themselves.

"What?" It was supposed to be innocent, but there was nothing innocent about what he had just witnessed or what had just occurred in her shower.

"Wow." He breathed out as she continued licking her hand before turning her attention to her stomach. "We're in a shower. You don't..."

"I know, but I don't like to waste." She put her index finger in her mouth, sucking the tip clean, removing it with a sucking pop sound.

He shook his head in disbelief.

"I told you, you had no idea." She taunted, as she tried to step around him.

"The water is cold." He stopped her. She reached around him and turned the knob all the way over to hot. "I think I have an idea now though. Christ..." He chuckled as he kissed her on the forehead.

"Were you speaking French?" He ran his hands over his head, letting the water cascade over him. She watched him with a small touching her lips. He was fucking gorgeous; even more so with the thin red welts along his back.

"I was. Did you like it?" She spoke as she twisted her braids up into a messy bun to keep them dry, before handing him a shampoo.

"Depends… What did you say?" He rinsed his hair, before turning towards her. He stepped aside to let her stand under the warm stream of water. He groaned internally at the sight before him. She was standing straight up, her head slightly tilted back to keep the water from her glowing face. His lips turned up small smile, a feeling of pride and satisfaction filling him when he noticed the faintest hints of bruising on the backs of her hips and lower back.

Brennan chuckled as she grabbed her red loofah and body wash, working up a lather, "I called you my sunshine and you never go without, not with me." She turned to face him, letting the water cascade down her back.

In that moment, standing naked and vulnerable in her shower, he stared at her. Her hazel eyes focused on him as they always seemed to be, he reached out and pulled her soapy body against his wet one, making her laugh into his chest.

Affection and admiration is what he felt in that moment. He picked her up again, her arms went around his neck as they kissed again. She smiled against his lips before pecking him several more times before she was carefully placed back on her feet.

He grabbed her loofah and began washing her back, "Your sunshine, huh?" He chuckled.

"Yeah. You don't like it, do you?" She turned slightly to look over her shoulder at him.

"I just think it's funny that you think of me as sunshine. I'm kind of a dick, babe. You know that."

She snatched the loofah out of his hand and finished lathering her legs and turning to face him. "You absolutely are, but that doesn't mean you don't brighten my days when I'm feeling down."

Did she really think that of him? He really had no idea about all of the ways he made her feel. He shook his head as she finished washing him and they both rinsed off in nearly ice cold water.

"Speaking of nicknames… Flower? Where the hell did that come from?" She spoke as she wiped the excess water from her body and wrapped herself in a huge purple towel.

He thought momentarily as wrapped a towel around his narrow hips, before grabbing another one to towel dry his hair. "It kind of came out of nowhere, but that's what you remind of."

A look of intrigue and confusion graced her face.

He shrugged, "Roses have thorns, some flowers grow in freezing conditions and some flowers grow out of cracks in the concrete. You're a tough ass chick Brennan, but you're also delicate and pretty as a flower."

She rolled her eyes at him before she playfully pushed him. She left the bathroom before he could notice the glassiness in her eyes at his sentiment.

* * *

After their shower and another steamy make out session, Brennan was rushing to do her makeup. She had applied her foundation, concealer, filled in her brows, contoured and bronzed in one step, put on blush and powdered her skin down to a natural matte. Tommy watched her from his spot in her bed as she applied a highlight to the tops of her cheekbones, along her brow bones and her Cupid's bow. She rushed putting mascara on her top lashes then spritzed her face with a setting spray. She quietly spoke to herself as she sprayed her body down with perfume then wiggled into skin tight white skinny jeans and layered two white tank tops. She threw on her black blazer and sat to put on her white high top vans. She put some faux diamond earrings in her ears then walked over to kiss him goodbye.

He watched her leave the room, listening to her rustle about in the living room, grabbing her keys and bag then heard the door close and lock behind her.

He sat in her bed, the bed they had just rolled around in after their shower session, thinking about how effortlessly they ended up there; both in the shower and in her bed; and how he was deliciously satisfied, but still craving her. He had been hooked on her before, but this was a new level. He chuckled despite himself as he shook his head. He knew from the second he saw her, that he wanted to get to know her. He thought maybe he'd ask her on a date or two just to see what she was about and maybe that would lead to striking up a friendship. He had gotten all of that and then some. Try as he might to deny it, he was in love with her. He was a man that didn't take any shit from anyone about anything and yet, he and Brennan had already gone through some shit he would've never put up with otherwise. He allowed himself to open up to her and she did the same for him. Even from the smallest gestures, like the kiss on his back or her telling him how handsome he looked or how bad ass he looked in the ring during a show. Hell, even if she decided to cook something for them made him swell with pride and happiness. He didn't know how else to explain how he felt about her other than it being love.

"Shit." He ran his hand over his head as realization set in. He got out of her bed and rifled through his duffel bag looking for clean gym shorts and a shirt. He slid the shorts on as he looked over at Brennan's vanity. His eyes were drawn to the film strip that was stuck to the mirror with a piece of tape. He shook his head as a smile graced his face. The pictures were from the night they crammed themselves into that tiny photo booth in Daytona. He noticed her phone sitting on the table of the vanity. He snatched the device off the table and made his way to the front door.

He took the stairs two at a time, in what he thought was a feeble chance to catch her. He stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed her standing at the end of the walkway near his truck with Dennis.

"I don't have time for this shit. I'm already late for work."

"Come on, Brennan. I think you owe me that much."

"I don't owe you shit, Dennis. If anything, you owe me a fucking apology."

"Brennan." Tommy's voice was clear and distinct over her and Dennis speaking.

She turned slowly to face Tommy.

"Hey, what's up?" She said walking towards him.

"Everything alright?" He glanced down at her before looking up and focusing on Dennis.

"Yeah. Everything is fine. He just wants to talk, but I don't want to hear anything he has to say."

 _'Good. That's my girl. Put him in his place before I have to.'_ Tommy nodded curtly, "You forgot your phone." He handed her the device.

"I was looking for it when his creepy ass came out of nowhere."

He couldn't stop the amused look that crossed his face.

"You sure everything is okay?"

"Yes, over protective ass. It's fine. I'm leaving." She chuckled.

He looked skeptical, "Alright. I'll see you in a little bit."

She nodded at him before turning away.

"Hey." He reached out for her, turning her towards him as he kissed her deeply. She melted against him, savoring the feeling of him pressed against her and his lips against hers.

"You're not slick, Thomas Pestock." She knew he was kissing her like that as a big fuck you to Dennis.

"I wasn't trying to be, Brennan Géroux."

She narrowed her eyes at him before turning and walking away.

"Bye, Dennis." She said sharply as she walked towards her car.

Tommy stood there watching as she got in her car. He waited until she backed out of her spot and left. He gave Dennis a pointed, challenging look. Dennis briefly held Tommy's gaze before he shook his head and walked in the direction of his car.

A smug look came across Tommy's face. He was gloating on the inside. He finally had his girl and her ex was trying to get her back, but she wasn't having any of that. She only wanted Tommy and that feeling filled him with pride and more love for that woman. He chuckled to himself before he turned and headed back up the stairs to her apartment.

* * *

 _Thoughts? Concerns? Praise? Scathing remarks? Anyone need a cold shower?_


	7. Chapter 7: The Bond

_Alright folks, here's a long awaited update. As I stated in the first chapter of my latest story Band Tees, the muses for this story have left me hanging. With this chapter, I'm going to change the status of this story to complete until I can come up with a more proper and fitting ending for these two. I never intended for this story to be more than 10 chapters so to get to 7 is a big thing as I'm not a big fan of writing multi-chapter stories because I have the attention span of a squirrel. What other things should I let you guys know about? This chapter wasn't read by my beta, so any weird grammar and punctuation and what not is of my own doing and trying to edit my own work which is laughable because I suck at it. Anyway... Yeah. Enjoy._

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Chapter 7: The Bond

The energy in The Menace was buzzing as usual, but something about this night in particular felt somewhat offsetting and suffocating to Brennan. She hadn't had a particularly hard or grueling day at work like her friends and boyfriend had. She had slept relatively well the night prior. Something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on the feeling that was settling deep in her stomach.

"Hey, are you alright?" Tommy asked as he lightly nudged her back into reality in the booth they had taken residence in.

A soft smile touched her lips, "I'm fine. I just zoned out for a little bit."

He stared at her, searching her face briefly.

She turned slightly, "I swear, Bear. I'm fine." She spoke as she nudged him back. She leaned up slightly and pecked him on his cheek. He didn't quite believe her, but dropped the subject.

"Brennan! Let's go get some drinks." Bayley spoke as she grabbed the taller woman's wrist.

"Not so fast." Tommy spoke as he turned Brennan's face slightly to capture her lips in a brief kiss.

"I liked it better when you guys didn't do that." Corey spoke up as he approached the booth.

"Shut up, Corey."

"Oh, look, they even speak in unison now." Corey rolled his eyes as he joked.

"You do the same thing with your wife, dickhead. Don't make fun of us."

"He's got you there." Bayley chuckled as she pulled Brennan from the booth.

"Whose side are you on, Bay?"

"Mine! Come on, Brennan. Lex is already at the bar." Bayley spoke quickly as she all but yanked Brennan from the booth.

Tommy slid out as well, his eyes on Brennan's ass. She had on black denim shorts that just barely covered her backside, so she snagged Tommy's red and black plaid shirt to tie around her hips to cover her butt better. Her thigh tattoos were on full display, as were all her tattoos on her arms. Her torso was covered in an old band tee she had cut the sleeves off of. She had her braids hanging free and loose and down her back and she dawned black studded biker boots on her feet. She wasn't wearing much makeup on her face either; she knew exactly how to make her eyes look bright and her skin fresh and glowing.

' _Holy shit.'_ Tommy smiled inwardly. She was beautiful. He thought that before they were ever involved, but now it was on a whole new level. He was in love with the woman with the blue braids. He wasn't entirely sure when it happened, but that was the only way he could explain how he felt about her.

Brennan looked over her shoulder at Tommy and winked at him before she smiled. A slight blush crept into his cheeks. He bit his lip before turning his attention back to Corey and the rest of their friends. Brennan shook her head slightly. She was in love with Thomas Pestock. She knew she loved him when they reconciled that night in her bed. Since then, her love for him had grown exponentially. She smiled to herself thinking about how far they had come since then. Neither of them were big fans of large displays of affection, but the small touches and kisses kept their spark alive. Neither of them were domineering or overly possessive of the other. There was a good balance between them and that set her heart and mind at ease.

"You okay over there?" Alexa teased as she nudged Brennan.

"I'm good." Brennan smiled before taking a sip from her Bloody Mary.

Alexa quirked her eyebrow at the expression on her friend's face. She turned slightly to tap Bayley to get her attention.

"You're all heart eye emoji over something. Spill it, chica or we'll be forced to liquor you up until you can't hold anything back." Alexa spoke as Bayley nodded in agreement.

Brennan narrowed her eyes at her friends. "Terrible examples of friends, I swear to God."

"Come on! Just tell us. You've been acting so weird all day." Bayley noted.

"I've felt weird all day."

"Are you pregnant?" Alexa questioned, raising her eyebrow and reaching for Brennan's abdomen.

She swatted Alexa's hand away, "What? No! Are you crazy?" Brennan exclaimed. "It's nothing like that. It probably could lead to that one day, but it's not that."

"Cryptic, much?" Alexa snorted.

"I'm in love with your big dumb friend." Brennan teased.

"That's it?"

Brennan looked on confused. "Yeah, that's it."

"Well hell, we could've told you that."

"Really? It's that obvious?"

"No shit. The real question is, have you told Tom?"

Brennan went to speak, but closed her mouth.

"You haven't told him?"

"No, not yet." Brennan admitted.

Alexa and Bayley looked on as Brennan looked over to the pool tables where Tommy was bending to take a shot. Brennan turned her attention back to her friends.

"It doesn't feel right to just blurt it out. Besides, what if he doesn't feel the same?"

Alexa tried to hold back her laughter, but failed. She laughed heartily until she noticed neither Brennan nor Bayley were laughing.

"Oh for fucks sake," Alexa jokingly rolled her eyes. "He's probably more in love with you than you are with him. He's been smitten with you since forever. Bite the bullet, B. With the two of you, there's nowhere to go but up."

"Lex is right. It's just in the little things he does. Actually, the little things the both of you do. When you guys are around each other, you're relaxed and comfortable and playful and everything most people strive for, but it's so effortless. You're good for him and he's good for you. And that's coming from two outsiders looking in." Bayley added before she took a sip of her drink.

Brennan took a deep breath before looking back over her shoulder to look at Tommy, but her view was slightly obstructed by a petite blonde body. She narrowed her hazel eyes at the situation in front of her.

"Who the hell is that?" Alexa asked getting annoyed for Brennan.

Brennan shook her head turning back to face the bar.

"Aren't you going to do anything?"

"You bet your pretty asses, I am. I'm just buying my time."

"Again with the cryptic shit." Alexa mumbled into her cup.

Brennan knew exactly who was standing perpendicular to her boyfriend and she'd be damned if she let that woman put on another show like the one she did the first time she encountered her.

* * *

"Thomas."

Tommy turned mid laugh when his eyes landed on his sort of kind of ex, Roxanne. His eyes quickly darted from Roxanne to Brennan and back.

"What the hell do you want?" His voice was instantly annoyed.

"I want to talk."

Tommy rolled his eyes. Clearly she didn't get it after the last time he told her off. He tipped his chin up at Cass getting his attention to take his spot in the pool game.

"There's nothing to talk about, Roxy." He spoke as he folded his arms over his chest.

"I think there is."

"For fucks sake, woman. I have a girlfriend. I'm happy. What part of that don't you understand?"

"You have a girlfriend? Where is she?" She looked around dramatically.

Tommy glared at the woman with nothing but air between her ears. "She's at the bar with her friends."

Roxy looked over her shoulder nonchalantly. "That's clever. There are a lot of ladies at that bar, Tom."

Tommy pinched the bridge of his nose. He was trying to keep his temper in check before he exploded on the woman in front him. He looked up in time to catch Brennan eying him. She just licked her lips and watched him. Was she not going to come over and help him diffuse the situation? He couldn't read the look that graced her face. He watched his woman so intently he didn't realize that Roxy had been speaking the entire time.

"I don't think you have a girlfriend. I think you're making her up to get me to leave you alone."

' _That wouldn't even stop you, you psycho.'_

"Why the hell would I do that? I'm not a pathological liar like you, Rox. I have a girlfriend whom I love dearly and she's watching you make an ass of yourself right now."

"Then where is she? Why isn't she over here making sure no other women make a move on you?"

"Are you fucking kidding me? I don't even know why I'm entertaining a conversation with you. She's not up my ass because she trusts me because she's secure in our relationship… And because she loves me, Roxy, that's why."

Was he entirely sure of the last bit of his statement? Not 100% because she had never actually said the words to him, but he was fairly certain of it. Even though he hadn't spoken the words to her either.

"And you love her?"

"Yes, I absolutely do."

"Well, if she loves you, she's got some way of showing it; letting you carry on just talking to another woman." She spoke as she touched his folded arms.

Brennan stood by the bar watching until she noticed Roxy moving closer to Tommy, touching him.

' _You've crossed the line, bitch.'_ Brennan left her drink on the bar and her friends standing there as she made a beeline for Tommy only to be stopped in her tracks by someone grabbing her arm.

"Get your hand off of me." Brennan spoke, yanking her arm out of the person's hand. "You've got a lot of fucking nerve, you know that?"

"You won't fucking talk to me any other way."

"That's because I don't have shit to say to you, Dennis."

"Look, I just want to fix things between us."

"What the hell are you talking about? Us? There is no us. And as far as I'm concerned, there never was an 'us' considering you were married the entire time."

"I wasn't and I'm still not happy in my marriage."

"That's not my problem." She glanced over her shoulder briefly to still see Tommy still arguing with Roxy. She jutted her thumb behind her over her left shoulder as she spoke, "That's my problem."

"Brennan…" He reached out to grab her arm again.

"Don't fucking touch me, Dennis. Do not."

"I don't like seeing you with him."

Brennan blinked slowly at Dennis before she shook her head, "That sucks doesn't it? Seeing someone you care about love someone else." It was a low blow, but a well deserved one. She had to witness him with his wife while he was supposedly falling for her. She felt like the biggest idiot back then.

Dennis glowered at Brennan. It was time to break out the big guns in his opinion. If he couldn't have her, at least he wouldn't have to constantly see her while she was falling in love with someone else.

"I didn't want to have to do this."

"Do what?"

"I'm going to have to ban you from the bar."

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"No, I'm not. I can't stand around here and watch you with him when it should be me."

Brennan exhaled a small puff of breath, smiling and nodding her head, "Fine by me."

She turned and walked away from Dennis and made her way over to Tommy and Roxanne. She never got to see how Dennis' face fell from the incredible amount of nonchalance she showed him at his declaration.

* * *

' _Finally.'_ He thought as he watched Brennan's five foot ten inch frame make her way through the crowd. He was still visibly tense noticing who she was walking away from. _'What the hell did I just miss? Why can't that fucker take a hint?'_

Brennan stood behind Roxy and took a steadying breath before tapping Roxy on the shoulder.

"Excuse me." Brennan spoke as she stepped around Roxy and into Tommy's arms. She put her arms loosely around his neck before she planted her lips against his. His left hand was splayed across Brennan's lower back while his right hand was higher up almost between her shoulder blades.

The kiss was hot. It was taking everything in him not to grip Brennan by her ass and hoist her up to wrap her thighs around his narrow waist. He settled for anchoring her to his body as she kissed him deeply. Without either of them really realizing it, their tongues began a brief dual. His hand slowly descended down to rest on her ass. He tapped her ass playfully making her smile against his lips.

"Hey." She whispered.

"Hey yourself." He whispered back before he pecked her lips again.

"Excuse me, who the hell are you?" Roxy voice was only a few levels below a screech.

Brennan laughed into Tommy's shoulder. She glanced up at Tommy, noticing his hand was still on her ass. Brennan looked over her shoulder at Roxy. "Girlfriend." She stated simply.

"Excuse us." Tommy spoke as he adjusted his hands to hoist Brennan over his shoulder.

"Goddammit, Tommy." Brennan giggled.

"You guys, enjoy the rest of your evening. I'm taking this one home." Tommy spoke as Brennan's butt faced their friends.

"Bye guys!" She laughed as he turned to walk out of The Menace with his woman over his shoulder.

Once outside the bar, Tommy placed Brennan on her feet then grabbed her hand as they walked towards his truck. That unsettled feeling was back in the pit of her stomach. They had just shared probably their biggest public display of affection since they had been together and now things seemed tense. The previous jovial mood seemed to dissipate and was replaced with this heavier, more pensive feeling in the air.

"Everything OK?" Brennan asked once they were in the truck and on the road.

Tommy stayed quiet, as if to gather his thoughts. His mind was running a mile a minute. He had seen Brennan leave a dumbfounded looking Dennis, but he didn't know why she was speaking to him at all. That man still drove him out of his mind when it came to Brennan; and this time was no different.

"I saw you walking away from Dennis in there. Anything you want to tell me?" He was trying like hell to keep his temper in check.

' _Oh, here we go.'_ Brennan rolled her eyes, "Don't start this shit again. Please." Her voice was calm, but edging on being annoyed.

Tommy gave her a brief sideways glance, narrowing his eyes slightly, before turning his attention back to the road. "Excuse the fuck out of me," He grumbled, "I can't question you about talking to him?" His temper had slipped as his voice raised slightly.

"No. Why the fuck does it matter? I'm not sitting here questioning you about what the fuck that was Roxy, am I?" Her voice rose as she questioned him.

"I don't fucking trust him, Brennan." His voice lowered considerably; his jaw was ticking after he spoke.

She turned in her seat to fully glare at the side of his face, "Is it him or me you don't trust?"

"What?" He was caught completely off guard by that question.

"Do you trust me?" She folded her arms waiting for his response.

He was quiet. Of course he trusted her. She had to know that. He was in love with her.

"You don't fucking act like you do." She mumbled as she turned away from him, looking out of the passenger side window.

"What the fuck do you mean by that?" His voice was raised again.

' _Great, another shouting match between us over my ex. This is fucking fantastic.'_

"I mean that whenever Dennis is even in my vicinity, it's a big fucking deal; and I still, to this day, don't understand why."

"I just wanna know what that fucking creep still has to say to you after all this time. He can't seem to take a fucking hint."

She was beyond frustrated with the whole situation. On the one hand, what did it matter if Tommy knew what Dennis said? But on the other hand, her business was her business and Tommy didn't need to know every little thing.

However, Dennis _was_ a special circumstance.

"He banned me from his bar, OK? That's what he fucking said."

"What?" His brow was creased in confusion.

"He banned me from the bar. He said he couldn't stand to see me there with you."

"So, you're just going to not come to the bar because he asked you not to?"

She nodded her head slowly.

"It's a free fucking country, B. You can do what you want. You don't have to listen to him."

With her frustration boiling over, her voice rose again, "It's not about the stupid bar. I'm sick of all this stupid ass childish drama. If he doesn't want me there, that's fine. I'd rather be at home sitting my lazy ass on my couch instead of having to break up a potential fight between you two idiots."

"And you're doing it because he asked you to?"

"See, this is what I meant about you trusting me. I'm trying to make the best decisions I possibly can for our relationship; to cut out the bullshit that's been going on and all you can fucking focus on is the fact that Dennis suggested it and I'm jumping at the chance."

She was right. It would almost completely eliminate the biggest hurdle in their relationship. He did trust her, but when it came to Dennis, something came over him. Maybe it was the fact that he had tried to play Brennan before and he felt that he had to protect her. Maybe it was the fact that he had grown to hate the guy for hurting Brennan. He couldn't exactly put his finger on it. He just knew he didn't like Dennis and he disliked him even more when it came to Brennan.

If he were being completely honest with himself, he'd say he never has a problem with other men when it comes to Brennan. He knows her attitude towards other men; they essentially don't exist. And he should know her attitude towards Dennis by now too. There was literally no way in hell he had a chance to find his way back into her life after what he did to her. He, Thomas Pestock, was her one and only and the only people that could change that was the two of them; Tommy and Brennan

He took a deep breath, "Fuck, you're right, B. I do trust you. I fucking love you. It's just something about that asshole that gets under my skin; especially when it comes to you. I'm sorry. I'm overreacting."

The world stopped momentarily for Brennan. She had definitely heard him say the words she was so anxious to hear from him. Finally hearing him say those words got her riled up and also settled her mind. Even under the tension of their argument, she felt relief and was suddenly overjoyed with the fact that the man she had just admitted to her friends that she was in love with was in love with her too. But she had to make sure…

"You love me?"

He glanced over at her. She was staring at him with that same oddly familiar look she had in her eyes the same night they reconciled in her bed.

He smiled before he spoke promptly and concisely, "Abso-fucking-lutely."

She chuckled, "That's good; really good." She reached out to grab his right hand.

"Why's that?" He intertwined their fingers.

"Because I love you too."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Why else would I put up with the shit you pull sometimes?" Her voice held a teasing lilt before she smirked at him.

He sighed, "I guess that is love."

She leaned over the console and kissed him on the cheek. He turned slightly to kiss her softly.

"Fuck him." They spoke in unison before smiling at each other.

"Fuck them both actually." Brennan clarified. "They wish they had it this good."

* * *

Cool? Not cool? Sweet? Sour? Let me know. Leave ideas. Leave something to bitch slap my muses.


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